CDC Drug Overdose Data Show Decrease for Pennsylvania

February 23, 2023

Pennsylvania saw encouraging signs as the state’s drug overdose deaths appeared to decline during 2022, according to the latest data from the CDC’s National Vital Statistics System.

The CDC’s provisional overdose data offered a mixed national picture, with some states seeing increases in overdose deaths and others seeing significant declines.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Pennsylvania total:  The commonwealth’s predicted total for drug overdose deaths from October 2021 through September 2022 was 5,092, a 7.32 percent decline from the prior year.
• National picture:  The predicted number of overdose deaths from October 2021 to September 2022 was nearly 107,000, a 1.2 percent increase from the prior year.
• Look back:  From February 2014 through January 2015, there were 2,865 predicted overdose cases in Pennsylvania and 48,126 in the U.S. Nationally, overdose deaths had remained relatively level from 2017 through 2019 before rising again during the pandemic.
• Regional perspective:  In addition to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Utah, New Mexico, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky saw overdose deaths decrease by 5 percent or more. On the other side, Washington, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Maine, Georgia, Alabama, and Delaware were among the states that saw overdose deaths increase by more than 10 percent.
• Top cause:  Opioids accounted for the large majority of overdose deaths, with about 80,000 predicted deaths in the year ending September 2022.

HAP and Pennsylvania’s hospitals are dedicated to addressing the opioid epidemic and the emerging behavioral health crisis across the commonwealth. This includes a focus on expanding behavioral health services so that Pennsylvanians can access care when and where they need it. Learn more about our behavioral health advocacy.

The CDC’s provisional report is available online.