Stimulant Involvement in Opioid OD Death Higher for Those in Physically Demanding Jobs

TUESDAY, April 1, 2025 (HealthDay News) — A higher percentage of individuals who have psychostimulant involvement in synthetic opioid overdose deaths tend to work in physically demanding occupations and industries, according to research published in the March 27 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Eric W. Lundstrom, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues conducted an exploratory study to characterize patterns of stimulant co-involvement among U.S. residents aged 15 to 64 years, stratified by decedents” usual occupation and industry using data on overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids from the 2022 National Vital Statistics System.

The researchers found that 53.6 percent of 69,893 fatal synthetic opioid overdoses involved stimulants. The highest percentages of synthetic opioid overdose deaths co-involving psychostimulants with abuse potential (psychostimulants) occurred in occupation and industry groups that were typically physically demanding (e.g., construction and extraction occupations), while the highest percentages of cocaine co-involvement were seen in industries that were generally less physically strenuous (e.g., business and financial occupations).

“These hypothesis-generating findings warrant confirmation but point to a potential role for work-related substance use and overdose prevention interventions,” the authors write.

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