Scientific American reports that opioids “have been blamed for the deaths of at least 400,000 U.S. residents in the past two decades – but research now shows that number could be much higher.” Specifically, researchers “looked at data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on about 630,000 people who died of drug overdoses between 1999 and 2016.” The researchers then “separated the deaths into two categories: those with and without a specific drug indicated.” An analysis of the data “found that the number of opioid deaths is likely 28 percent higher than generally reported.” The researchers “also noticed that in five states – Alabama, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania – the number of apparent opioid deaths over the seven-year period more than doubles after taking into account their adjustments.”

From the news release of the American Association for Justice.