More than 40% of Americans know someone who has died of a drug overdose and about one-third say their lives were disrupted by the death, according to a new study.
The research, published in the American Journal of Public Health, shows 42.4% of adults personally know at least one person who died by overdose, suggesting that 125 million American adults have experienced such a loss.
The study found that 13% of adults had had their lives disrupted by an overdose loss, and more than 4% said the loss caused a significant or devastating effect that they still feel.
More than 109,000 people died from a drug overdose in 2022, placing the national total since 2000 at more than 1.1 million overdose deaths.
The study found that the lifetime exposure to an overdose death is more common among women than men, married participants than unmarried participants, U.S.-born participants than immigrants, and those who live in urban settings compared to those in rural settings.
Rates of exposure were significantly higher in New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) and in the East South Central region (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee) than in other parts of the nation.
"The overdose crisis has had wide-ranging negative impacts on people who use drugs, their employers, and public health systems, but little research has explored the experiences of those left behind by fatal drug overdoses," the study noted. "A parallel line of research with those left behind by suicide suggests that overdose loss may be more prevalent than previously understood."
Researchers say there appears to be a "continuum of survivorship" following suicide deaths, leaving overlapping groups of those exposed, those who are psychologically distressed, and those who are significantly impacted by suicide. Each suicide death is estimated to affect the lives of as many as 135 adults.
"It is likely that a similar continuum of survivorship exists among overdose loss survivors," Alison Athey, the study's lead author and a behavioral scientist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization said in a statement.
Athey said the findings emphasize the need for research into the prevalence and impact of overdose loss, particularly among groups and communities that experience disproportionate rates of loss.