U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths More Than Quadrupled from 1999 to 2020

Regardless of race, age, geography or urbanization, drug overdose deaths in the U.S. more than quadrupled from 1999 to 2020, causing 1,013,852 deaths. The rates increased 4.4 times from 6.9 per 100,000 in 1999 to 30 per 100,000 in 2020.

Chicago neighborhoods with barriers to social distancing had higher COVID-19 death rates

New research has found that Chicago neighborhoods with barriers to social distancing, including limited access to broadband internet and low rates of health insurance, had more COVID-19 deaths in spring 2020. The study, led by researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago, is published in the Annals of Epidemiology.

States with the highest income inequality also experienced a larger number of COVID-19 deaths

States with the highest level of income inequality had a larger number of COVID-19-related deaths compared with states with lower income inequality. New York state, with the highest income inequality, had a mortality rate of 51.7 deaths per 100,000 vs. Utah, the state with the lowest income inequality and which had a mortality of 0.41 per 100,000.

Study: U.S. firearm death rate rose sharply in recent years across most states & demographic groups

The rate at which Americans died from firearm injuries increased sharply starting in 2015, a new study shows. The change occurred to varying degrees across different states, types of firearm death such as homicide and suicide, and demographics. In all, the US saw a 14% rise in the rate of firearm deaths from 2015 through 2017, compared with the rate seen in the years 1999 through 2014.