Tennessee drug and opioid overdose rates hit five year high in 2018

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--New data from the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) reveals there were 1,818 drug overdose deaths in 2018, the highest total since 2014.

The Tennessee Drug Overdose Dashboard records county, regional, and state-level data on fatal overdoses, nonfatal overdoses, and drug prescriptions.

According to the data, there have been a total of 7,939 drug overdose deaths in the state since 2014, 5,653 of them involving opioids.

The overall drug overdose death rate in 2018 was 27.4 per 100,000 residents and those involving opioids were 19.9 per 100,000. Both 2018 rates were the highest such totals.

In Davidson County, the rate was above the state average, the county reporting 242 drug overdose deaths, equating to a 33.4 rate. The rate of deaths involving opioids was also above the state average with a rate of 27.3 per 100,000.

The upticks come despite the county recording a five year low in opioid pain prescriptions. There were 440,473 opioid prescriptions in 2018 compared to 622,083 in 2014. There were over 6 million painkiller prescriptions issued statewide in 2018.