Drug, Alcohol, and Suicide Deaths Up Among Millennials

Drug, alcohol, and suicide deaths have increased among millennials, according to a report issued by the Trust for America's Health and the Well Being Trust.

In the report, Rhea K. Farberman, from the Trust for America's Health, and colleagues address increases in young adult deaths due to alcohol and drug misuse and suicide with a focus on millennials, ages 23 to 38 years, in 2019.

According to the report, the number of drug deaths among young adults has increased by 400 percent during the last two decades; in 2017, for young adults ages 18 to 34 years, there were nearly 31 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 people. Between 2007 and 2017, drug-related deaths increased 108 percent, alcohol death rates increased 69 percent, and suicide deaths increased 35 percent among those aged 18 to 34 years. Recommendations to address the causes of substance use disorders and mental health issues include ensuring access to evidence-based prevention, screening, and treatment; using price strategies to limit alcohol consumption; reducing the multigenerational impact of substance use disorders; investing more in research on nonopioid and nondrug pain treatments; providing evidence-based substance misuse treatment within the criminal justice system; and creating substance misuse and suicide prevention programs that address the crisis in novel ways.

"If we fail millennials, we're failing the next generation and we'll not break this cycle of despair," Benjamin F. Miller, Psy.D., chief strategy officer for the Well Being Trust, said in a statement.

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