Provisional Drug Overdose Death Counts by HHS Region and Specific Drug

Provisional mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System provides counts of drug overdose deaths by selected drugs and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services public health regions. The data is based on a current flow of mortality data for 12-month ending periods, with deaths identified using ICD-10 codes and specific drugs identified by searching literal text from death certificates. The dataset is produced by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in overdose death counts by specified drug across different HHS public health regions.
• Compare provisional death counts for 12-month ending periods, such as June 2021 versus June 2022, to evaluate year-over-year changes.
• Identify which specific drugs are most frequently cited in overdose deaths with underlying causes coded as unintentional (X40-X44), suicide (X60-X64), homicide (X85), or undetermined intent (Y10-Y14).

Strengths

• Data is based on the authoritative National Vital Statistics System mortality data.
• Counts are provided for specific drugs identified via death certificate text, offering granularity.
• Data is provisional and updated regularly, with the last update recorded in January 2026.

Limitations

• Data represents counts of deaths, not mortality rates or ratios, limiting direct comparisons of risk across population groups.
• Provisional data is subject to revision as more complete information is received.
• Trend analysis requires comparing non-overlapping 12-month periods to avoid misinterpretation.

Provenance

Source

National Vital Statistics System via the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Collection Method

Provisional mortality data flow; specific drugs identified by searching literal text from death certificates.

Time Range

Data is for 12-month ending periods; specific range is not provided in the input.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-01-29, indicating regular updates.

Geography

United States, segmented by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) public health regions.