Opioid Overdose in Ohio: Comprehensive Analysis of Associated Socioeconomic Factors

ObjectiveOur study focused on identifying socioeconomic factors associated with death by opioid overdose in Ohio communities at the census tract level. Materials and MethodsA large-scale vital statistic dataset from Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and U.S. Census datasets were used to obtain opioid-related death rate and socioeconomic characteristics for all census tracts in Ohio. Regression analysis was performed to identify the relationships between socioeconomic factors of census tracts and the opioid-related death rate for both urban and rural tracts. ResultsIn Ohio from 2010-2016, whites, males, and people aged 25-44 had the highest opioid-related death rates. At the census tract level, higher death rates were associated with certain socioeconomic characteristics (e.g. percentage of the census tract population living in urban areas, percentage divorced/separated, percentage of vacant housing units). Predominately rural areas had a different population composition than urban areas, and death rates in rural areas exhibited fewer associations with socioeconomic characteristics. DiscussionPredictive models of opioid-related death rates based on census tract-level characteristics held for urban areas more than rural ones, reflecting the recently observed rural-to-urban geographic shift in opioid-related deaths. Future research is needed to examine the geographic distribution of opioid abuse throughout Ohio and in other states. ConclusionRegression analysis identified associations between population characteristics and opioid-related death rates of Ohio census tracts. These analyses can help government officials and law official workers prevent, predict and combat opioid abuse at the community level.