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In 2022, there were 2,135 overdose deaths. This was a decrease of over 5% from 2021.
The Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP) states that overdose cases autopsied by the Office of the State Medical Examiner (OSME) and toxicology reports submitted by Kentucky coroners, that 90% of deaths in 2022 involved opioids. Illicit fentanyl continues to be the most prevalent drug contributing to overdose deaths, accounting for 72.5% nationwide in 2022.
In 2022, a total of 2,135 Kentucky residents died from a drug overdose, representing a decrease of more than 5% from the 2,250 resident drug overdose deaths in 2021.
A review of the resident autopsy cases by OSME and toxicology reports submitted by Kentucky
Table 2: Kentucky Counties with the Highest Numbers of Drug Overdose Deaths with Fentanyl Identified through Toxicology in 2022
Methamphetamine was identified in 1,069 drug overdose deaths, representing 50.1% of the total drug overdose deaths in 2022 and a decrease of 1.2% from the 1,082 drug overdose deaths for which methamphetamine was identified through toxicology in 2021.
Table 3: Kentucky Counties with the Highest Numbers of Drug Overdose Deaths with Methamphetamine Identified Through Toxicology in 2022
Table 5: Numbers of Kentucky Resident Drug Overdose Deaths by Age Group, 2020-2022
Numbers greater than zero but less than five were suppressed in accordance with state data release policy. Data are provisional and subject to change. Produced by the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, as bona fide agent for the Kentucky Department for Public Health. May 2023. Data source: Kentucky Death Certificate Database, Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics, Cabinet for Health and Family Services
Table 6: Numbers of Kentucky Resident Drug Overdose Deaths by Race, 2020-2022
Data are provisional and subject to change. Produced by the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, as bona fide agent for the Kentucky Department for Public Health. May 2023. Data source: Kentucky Death Certificate Database, Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics, Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
Table 7: Counts of Substances Identified Through Toxicology Testing of Kentucky Resident Drug Overdose Decedents, 2022
Data are provisional and subject to change. Produced by the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, as bona fide agent for the Kentucky Department for Public Health. May 2023. Data source: Drug Overdose Fatality Surveillance System.
*Certain cells have been suppressed because either 1) the observed number of events is very small (a count of at least one but less than five) and not appropriate for publication or 2) the observed number could be used to calculate the number in a cell that has been suppressed. Due to rounding, percentages may not add up precisely to 100%. Produced by the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, as bona fide agent for the Kentucky Department for Public Health. January 2024. This product was supported by grant number 1 NU17CE010186 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Data source: Kentucky Death Certificate Database, Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics, Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Data are provisional and subject to change.
Total number of emergency department (ED) visits for nonfatal drug overdose in 2022:
11,274
Nonfatal overdose ED visits among non-Hispanic White residents in 2022:
9,459
Nonfatal overdose ED visits among non-Hispanic Black residents in 2022:
1,377
The age group with the most nonfatal overdose ED visits in 2022:
25 to 34 years old
Number of nonfatal overdoses involving heroin in 2022:
1,700
Number of nonfatal overdoses involving a non-heroin opioid in 2022:
3,120
Number of nonfatal overdoses involving cocaine in 2022:
85
Number of nonfatal overdoses involving other psychostimulants in 2022:
510