CHARACTERISTICS OF OLDER ADULTS WHO DIED FROM OPIOIDS AS A CAUSE OF DEATH DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Abstract There was a 1,886% increase in opioid overdose deaths among people 55 years and above, from 518 in 1999 to 10,292 in 2019 in the U.S. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported a 30% increase in drug overdose deaths in 2020, where it claimed nearly 100000 American lives. However, few studies focused on the individual opioids that caused more deaths in the aging population and their death circumstances. This retrospective study aims to describe the sociodemographic characteristics of older adults who died from opioids as a cause of death (COD) in Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, using descriptive statistics in SPSS 28. De-identified data from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in 2020 were used in this study. A total of 1656 cases of decedents (ages > 65 years) were analyzed; 348 out of 1656 cases had opioids as a COD. Age ranged from 65 to 103, mean age of 73.31 (SD= 7.690). Majority of decedents were males (67.3%), non-Hispanic whites (86.5%). Nearly 80% died from accidents, suicide at 18.1%; 99.1% of cases happened in urban counties. Fentanyl caused more deaths (n=135), then morphine (n=48), oxycodone (n=42), and hydrocodone (n=29).The study results have direct clinical practice implications to patient safety, particularly the opioid deaths that resulted from accidents. Opioid harm reduction interventions should be tailored to older adults’ specific needs, specifically in urban counties. Healthcare providers should pay extra attention to opioids that cause more deaths, i.e., fentanyl, morphine, oxycodone, and hydrocodone to safeguard public safety.