This crisis is thought to be caused by increases in prescription opioids starting in the 90's.
In the article to be presented there is an analysis of the rate of drug overdoses over a period of 37 years. Interestingly, the drug overdose mortality rate is following an exponential growth curve. The article investigates several factors related to drug overdoses, such as geographic spread, age, gender, ethnicity and type of drug causing the overdose.
The authors suggest that the current opioid crisis is a part of a longer ongoing process of exponential growth starting in 1979. However, they cannot explain the causes of this process.
Title of the article to be discussed: Changing dynamics of the drug overdose epidemic in the United States from 1979 through 2016. Jalal H, Buchanich JM, Roberts MS, Balmert LC, Zhang K, Burke DS Science. 2018 Sep 21; 361 (6408)
The JC will be led by postdoc Kristin Feltmann.
The Journal Club is intended for PhD-students associated with CPF. Coffee and light snacks will be available. Registration for the JC is not necessary!
It will be possible to join in on video conference through ZOOM, contact Karolina Sörman for this purpose: karolina.sorman@ki.se
Instructions regarding ZOOM:
* You can get also connected through smartphone (download the app ZOOM). Click on "join a meeting", type in the meeting code that Karolina will provide you with and choose username. For a group to join in, you can use a web camera. For this purpose, download ZOOM on your laptop (for SLL-computers, the installation might take some time so prepare this well in time). To join the meeting, click on the link provided by Karolina.