IOWA, USA — The most recent numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a disturbing nationwide trend of drug overdose deaths. According to CDC data, there were more drug overdose deaths from May 2019 to May 2020 than in any other 12-month period in history.
While these are nationwide figures, Iowa is seeing similar trends. During that same 12-month period, Iowa reported a 38% increase in drug overdose deaths compared to that same time period ending in 2019.
Dr. Mike Kepplinger, medical director at Monarch Addiction Recovery Clinics, has seen the national trend first-hand throughout the pandemic. "People are home; they’re isolated; they don’t have the support structure that they used to have; a lot of people have lost their jobs; they're unemployed," said Dr. Kepplinger, describing the challenges he believes contributed to increased drug use.
Dr. Kepplinger also said some pandemic protocols brought some unintended consequences that fueled the problem even more. For example, certain pain medications that, before the pandemic, had to be administered by health care professionals, were given to patients to take home.
"Now, you have patients who have underlying substance abuse disorders with access to massive amount of opioids which are to be taken on a steady regular basis but can and have been used in much higher doses resulting in cases I see in the emergency department," he said.
Another issue he's seen is that support groups began to meet virtually to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
"A lot of the folks that I talk to who suffer from substance abuse disorders don’t get same sort of value out of that type of meeting," Dr. Kepplinger said.
The issue can affect people of all ages. That's why Ryan Doyle, substance abuse prevention coordinator at Iowa-based YSS, is starting the conversation early.
"It’s okay to talk about this. It doesn’t need to be stigmatize, even though unfortunately, to this day, it still is," Doyle said.
He said he has seen the pandemic affect children in many of the same ways it affects adults.
"That separation from their peers and that social isolation--that’s one of the things we worry about when it comes to addiction," he said.
If you are struggling with addiction, you can visit the CDC's website for resources that can help.