ATLANTA, Oct 2, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The number of U.S. poisoning deaths
nearly doubled between 1999 and 2006, from almost 20,000 to more than 37,000,
U.S. health officials say.
A report by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, said that in 2006, more than 90 percent of
poisoning deaths involved drugs.
Opioid analgesics were involved in almost 40 percent of all poisoning deaths in
2006, up from about 20 percent in 1999. From 1999-2006, poisoning deaths
involving methadone rose more rapidly than those involving other opioid
analgesics, cocaine, or heroin, the report said.
The number of poisoning deaths involving methadone increased nearly seven-fold
from almost 790 in 1999 to almost 5,420 in 2006 -- the most rapid increase among
opioid analgesics and other narcotics involved in poisoning deaths, health
officials said.
Poisoning is the second leading cause of injury death overall, and the leading
cause of injury death for people ages 35 to 54, surpassing both firearm-related
and motor vehicle-related deaths in this age group, the report said.
URL: www.upi.com
Copyright 2009 by United Press International