The Number of Opioid Overdose Deaths May Still Be Underestimated

The statistics around opioid overdose deaths are staggering. More than 42,000 people died of an opioid overdose in 2016 alone, according to recent federal estimates, and fatal overdose rates continue to rise across nearly every segment of the population. Among young adults, these drugs accounted for about 20% of all deaths in 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.

But a new study says that even those figures don't capture the full extent of the opioid crisis.