Latest news with #Krawczyk
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Majority of Youth Overdose Deaths from 2018 to 2022 Were Driven by Fentanyl Alone
Study Reveals Changing Nature of U.S. Drug Supply NEW YORK, May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Fatal drug overdoses among youth aged 15 to 24 in the United States involving synthetic opioids alone—not mixed with other substances—soared by 168 percent over the five-year time period of 2018 to 2022, a new study shows. Published online today in the journal Pediatrics, the work also found that youth overdose rates and drug combinations varied significantly across age, sex and race/ethnicity. Led by NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the new study is the first, say investigators, to identify which specific combinations of drugs drove synthetic opioid-involved fatal overdoses among young people across sociodemographic groups over time. Overdoses that involved synthetic opioids alone—predominantly fentanyl—had the highest rates of fatalities when compared to overdoses involving other drug combinations examined by the researchers. This was regardless of age, sex and race/ethnicity. "Before we looked at the data, we thought we would find that the majority of fatal youth overdoses involved fentanyl combined with other substances, such as prescription opioids or cocaine," said Noa Krawczyk, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Population Health, and senior author of the study. "Instead, we found the opposite—that most deaths were caused by fentanyl alone. Our analysis sheds light on the changing nature and risks of the drug supply and how they impact key demographic groups. Some may think they are taking one substance but are actually exposed to another." According to Krawczyk, who is also associate director of the Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policy at NYU Langone, their findings underscore the need to tailor overdose prevention strategies that include harm reduction services specifically to youth to prevent death and suffering among this under-studied population. How the Study was Conducted Analyzing data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the researchers characterized trends in overdose death involving synthetic opioids (predominantly fentanyl) alone, as well as in combination with five common other drugs (benzodiazepines, heroin, prescription opioids, cocaine, and other stimulants) among youth aged 15-24 across age, sex and race/ethnicity over five years (from 2018 to 2022). The investigators found that during the five-year study period, overdoses involving synthetic opioids alone increased by 168 percent—the highest rates of fatalities compared to those that included a combination of the examined drugs, regardless of age, sex and race/ethnicity. After deaths due to synthetic opioids/fentanyl alone, the next highest rates of fatal overdoses involved fentanyl combined with cocaine or another stimulant; however, rates differed by age, sex, race/ethnicity and over time. In 2018, White non-Hispanic youth had the highest rates of overdoses involving synthetic opioids/fentanyl alone. By 2022, rates of overdose deaths involving only fentanyl among Black American, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Hispanic youth exceeded White non-Hispanic youth. When it came to the impact of sex and age, fatal overdoses across all groups were highest among males, as well as all youth aged 20 to 24. According to the research team, understanding the landscape of overdose patterns provides needed context in terms of how to best inform specific public health interventions that can prevent more deaths. Megan Miller, a research coordinator at the NYU Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policy and lead author of the study, emphasized that "there are a variety of ways to engage youth and reduce their risk of overdose. Schools, places of employment, homeless shelters, child welfare services, and juvenile justice settings are all possible touchpoints to offer education and harm reduction tools such as naloxone and fentanyl test strips. Our findings highlight the need to tailor these strategies to different youth groups based on the types of drugs they are using to help prevent further overdose deaths." Limitations to the study findings, according to the investigators, include possible misclassification in mortality coding practices, as well as limited sociodemographic information. For example, youth who identify as LGBTQ+ tend to have a higher risk of overdose, yet that information was not available. Due to small sample sizes, the data did not examine youth who may identify as more than one race or ethnicity. In addition to Krawczyk and Miller, study co-authors from NYU Grossman School of Medicine include Katherine Wheeler-Martin, MPH, Amanda M. Bunting, PhD, and Magdalena Cerdá, DrPH. Funding for the study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K01DA055758. Dr. Bunting was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse under Award Number K01DA053435. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. About NYU Langone HealthNYU Langone Health is a fully integrated health system that consistently achieves the best patient outcomes through a rigorous focus on quality that has resulted in some of the lowest mortality rates in the nation. Vizient Inc. has ranked NYU Langone No. 1 out of 115 comprehensive academic medical centers across the nation for three years in a row, and U.S. News & World Report recently placed nine of its clinical specialties among the top five in the nation. NYU Langone offers a comprehensive range of medical services with one high standard of care across seven inpatient locations, its Perlmutter Cancer Center, and more than 320 outpatient locations in the New York area and Florida. With $14.2 billion in revenue this year, the system also includes two tuition-free medical schools, in Manhattan and on Long Island, and a vast research enterprise. Media Inquiries: Sasha View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE NYU Langone
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Majority of Youth Overdose Deaths from 2018 to 2022 Were Driven by Fentanyl Alone
Study Reveals Changing Nature of U.S. Drug Supply NEW YORK, May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Fatal drug overdoses among youth aged 15 to 24 in the United States involving synthetic opioids alone—not mixed with other substances—soared by 168 percent over the five-year time period of 2018 to 2022, a new study shows. Published online today in the journal Pediatrics, the work also found that youth overdose rates and drug combinations varied significantly across age, sex and race/ethnicity. Led by NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the new study is the first, say investigators, to identify which specific combinations of drugs drove synthetic opioid-involved fatal overdoses among young people across sociodemographic groups over time. Overdoses that involved synthetic opioids alone—predominantly fentanyl—had the highest rates of fatalities when compared to overdoses involving other drug combinations examined by the researchers. This was regardless of age, sex and race/ethnicity. "Before we looked at the data, we thought we would find that the majority of fatal youth overdoses involved fentanyl combined with other substances, such as prescription opioids or cocaine," said Noa Krawczyk, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Population Health, and senior author of the study. "Instead, we found the opposite—that most deaths were caused by fentanyl alone. Our analysis sheds light on the changing nature and risks of the drug supply and how they impact key demographic groups. Some may think they are taking one substance but are actually exposed to another." According to Krawczyk, who is also associate director of the Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policy at NYU Langone, their findings underscore the need to tailor overdose prevention strategies that include harm reduction services specifically to youth to prevent death and suffering among this under-studied population. How the Study was Conducted Analyzing data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the researchers characterized trends in overdose death involving synthetic opioids (predominantly fentanyl) alone, as well as in combination with five common other drugs (benzodiazepines, heroin, prescription opioids, cocaine, and other stimulants) among youth aged 15-24 across age, sex and race/ethnicity over five years (from 2018 to 2022). The investigators found that during the five-year study period, overdoses involving synthetic opioids alone increased by 168 percent—the highest rates of fatalities compared to those that included a combination of the examined drugs, regardless of age, sex and race/ethnicity. After deaths due to synthetic opioids/fentanyl alone, the next highest rates of fatal overdoses involved fentanyl combined with cocaine or another stimulant; however, rates differed by age, sex, race/ethnicity and over time. In 2018, White non-Hispanic youth had the highest rates of overdoses involving synthetic opioids/fentanyl alone. By 2022, rates of overdose deaths involving only fentanyl among Black American, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Hispanic youth exceeded White non-Hispanic youth. When it came to the impact of sex and age, fatal overdoses across all groups were highest among males, as well as all youth aged 20 to 24. According to the research team, understanding the landscape of overdose patterns provides needed context in terms of how to best inform specific public health interventions that can prevent more deaths. Megan Miller, a research coordinator at the NYU Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policy and lead author of the study, emphasized that "there are a variety of ways to engage youth and reduce their risk of overdose. Schools, places of employment, homeless shelters, child welfare services, and juvenile justice settings are all possible touchpoints to offer education and harm reduction tools such as naloxone and fentanyl test strips. Our findings highlight the need to tailor these strategies to different youth groups based on the types of drugs they are using to help prevent further overdose deaths." Limitations to the study findings, according to the investigators, include possible misclassification in mortality coding practices, as well as limited sociodemographic information. For example, youth who identify as LGBTQ+ tend to have a higher risk of overdose, yet that information was not available. Due to small sample sizes, the data did not examine youth who may identify as more than one race or ethnicity. In addition to Krawczyk and Miller, study co-authors from NYU Grossman School of Medicine include Katherine Wheeler-Martin, MPH, Amanda M. Bunting, PhD, and Magdalena Cerdá, DrPH. Funding for the study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K01DA055758. Dr. Bunting was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse under Award Number K01DA053435. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. About NYU Langone HealthNYU Langone Health is a fully integrated health system that consistently achieves the best patient outcomes through a rigorous focus on quality that has resulted in some of the lowest mortality rates in the nation. Vizient Inc. has ranked NYU Langone No. 1 out of 115 comprehensive academic medical centers across the nation for three years in a row, and U.S. News & World Report recently placed nine of its clinical specialties among the top five in the nation. NYU Langone offers a comprehensive range of medical services with one high standard of care across seven inpatient locations, its Perlmutter Cancer Center, and more than 320 outpatient locations in the New York area and Florida. With $14.2 billion in revenue this year, the system also includes two tuition-free medical schools, in Manhattan and on Long Island, and a vast research enterprise. Media Inquiries: Sasha View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE NYU Langone Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
2 California wildfire victims explain why they wouldn't rebuild again
Six years after LA County's Woolsey fire, many destroyed homes haven't been rebuilt. Rebuilding is costly, emotionally taxing, and often delayed by complex red tape. Two families say they might not have rebuilt their homes if they'd understood how hard it would be. Thousands of homeowners in Los Angeles are figuring out a way forward after the Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed 16,000 homes and properties across the county. But some of their neighbors who lost their homes in past fires warn that rebuilding will likely be harder than expected. Two families whose Malibu homes burned down in the 2018 Woolsey fire told BI they might have sold their properties and moved on if they'd known how lengthy, complicated, expensive, and emotionally taxing the rebuilding process would be. That might be why, more than six years after the Woolsey fire destroyed more than 1,600 structures and burned 97,000 acres, only about 40% of the homes that were lost have been replaced. Construction costs will likely be even higher for victims of LA's most recent fires, as the scale of the destruction far outstrips past fires and will squeeze a building industry already facing a labor shortage, elevated building material costs, and overwhelming demand. Jon Krawczyk always knew there was a chance he could lose his Malibu home to a wildfire. But he didn't really believe it until it happened. "They say there's a reason young men go to war because they don't think they're going to die, right?" he told BI. "I left thinking I'll come back tomorrow, and it'll be here." It's been two and half years since Krawczyk, a metal sculptor, and his wife, an art consultant, finally broke ground on rebuilding their home of 18 years. That came after a seemingly endless back-and-forth with government officials over permitting and approvals for their project. Krawczyk said authorities required them to rebuild the same structures they had before, even though they wanted one building instead of three, and less square footage. Krawczyk, who lost his studio and all his equipment on the property, said he initially thought rebuilding would cost about $1.6 million and take about three years, but it's ended up costing north of $2.2 million and taken close to six years. The Krawczyks had paid off the mortgage on their home six months before the fire and were able to evacuate with their two teenage kids to a family home. A few months later, they used their insurance payout to buy a home in nearby Thousand Oaks, where they've lived since 2019. While they received their maximum insurance payout and money from a $2.2 billion settlement with Southern California Edison, they lost their insurance provider and had to resort to California's FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort. The plan has high premiums and caps payouts at $3 million. The couple hopes to get the final occupancy permit and move into their new house this spring in time to host their son's wedding. But if Krawczyk could turn back time, he's not sure he would've gone through with rebuilding. "If I knew then what I know now, I may have just walked away," he said, "because it is not fun." Bill and Leslie Bixley had lived in their home in the Malibu hills for about 20 years when the Woolsey fire reduced it to ash. It didn't take long for the couple to get their first payout from their insurance company, but it took about two years to get the permits and other approvals they needed to begin construction on the new, more fire-resistant home. "The initial shock of losing material possessions is rough," Bill said. "But the roughest part, actually, for me anyway, was getting the permits and getting through the bureaucracy." But the couple was determined to rebuild, so they pushed ahead and completed the home about four years after the fire. While the rebuild made sense financially, the Bixleys said that with the benefit of hindsight, they might not have done it. "It wasn't worth the pain," Leslie said. "Looking back on it, I wouldn't do it again, I don't think." But years later, the new house still doesn't feel like home. They miss Bill's 70-year-old teddy bear and Leslie's mother's Steinway grand piano, which they lost in the fire. Without many of its old trees, the property has lost some of its spirit. "We had to put so much concrete in to make it fire-safe that we feel like we're in a Lexus commercial," Leslie said. "It's just not the folksy place it was." The Bixleys are also traumatized by their experience — and fearful of future fires, so they moved out of Malibu for the time being and leased their home to victims of the most recent LA fires. They're living in a rental home in Fresno as they decide what to do next. "This last fire was so horrific, and we've just been so stressed out and traumatized from the experience, even though we've done everything in our power to fireproof our house," Leslie said. "We went through all that heartache, but it still didn't take away the pain and the fear of this happening." Many of the Bixley's neighbors never rebuilt their homes, so their neighborhood still "looks like somebody who's lost half their teeth," Bill said. The couple said they know many others who also fear future fires and want to leave Malibu. But if you're determined to rebuild, you can, Bill said. "You can't get beaten down," he said. "You can always do it, just when you think it's over, it's not." Has your home been impacted by a wildfire or other natural disaster? Contact this reporter at erelman@ Read the original article on Business Insider
