State Health Compare Data Offer Baseline for Measuring Pandemic’s Impact on Suicide, Drug Overdose Death Rates

This commentary presents data on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting “deaths of despair” caused by suicides, alcohol abuse, and overdoses from opioids and other drugs.

Some experts have warned that the stress of the pandemic itself—as well as from the historic economic downturn and social isolation caused by efforts to reduce person-to-person virus transmission—could exacerbate these already grim public health situations.