Cook County experienced a record number of opioid overdose deaths last year, the great majority of which involved fentanyl, the county medical examiner's office reported Tuesday.
According to the medical examiner, there were 2,000 fatal opioid overdoses in 2022, topping the previous record of 1,935 set in 2021.
Overdose deaths have spiked nationwide with the introduction of fentanyl into the illegal drug trade in recent years. According National Institutes of Health data, fatal opioid overdoses nationally rose from 52,404 in 2015 to 106,669 in 2021. Those involving fentanyl increased from fewer than 10,000 in 2015 to more than 70,600 in 2021, the federal agency reported.
About 78% of the overdose victims last year were male, and about 70% of the deaths occurred in Chicago. African Americans made up 56% of the victims, whites accounted for 29% and Latinos accounted for just below 15%, medical examiner's data shows. The year's youngest opioid overdose victim was a 12-year-old boy from Chicago. The oldest was an 84-year-old woman from Chicago.Earlier this year, DuPage County officials reported 150 overdose deaths in 2022, 106 of them attributable to fentanyl. That's a 194% increase from the 51 opioid deaths reported in 2015 and 15% increase from 2020, according to data from the county coroner's office.
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