ArticleCureus2025
Trends in Drug and Polysubstance-Related Deaths in the State of Texas: County Comparisons.
Article in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Pharmacy-level barriers to opioid overdose prevention: availability and accessibility of naloxone and buprenorphine-naloxone in high-risk Texas counties.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Unveiling the spectrum of sudden cardiac death: a multidisciplinary analysis from the Friuli Venezia Giulia registry.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe opioid epidemic remains a significant public health challenge, with a substantial number of overdose deaths occurring annually. Synthetic opioids, particularly illicitly manufactured fentanyl, account for a significant portion of these fatalities, with a notable increase in adolescent deaths. In Texas, despite a decrease in opioid prescriptions, overdose deaths from both legal and illegal opioids have increased. The state's current overdose tracking program lacks comprehensive reporting, suggesting the crisis may be worse than reported due to incomplete data from rural counties affected by border crossings. This paper examines the pattern of opioid overdose deaths in Texas over the last seven years and postulates that the extent of the opioid crisis in Texas may be worse than what is officially reported due to incomplete data from rural counties.
methodsThis study presents a trend analysis based on the Texas Department of State Health Services' surveillance data from 2016 to 2022. The analysis highlights trends in total polysubstance and drug-related deaths, the number of affected counties, and the average number of deaths per county. Additionally, the study identifies counties with increasing death rates over the seven-year period.
resultsThe analysis revealed a consistent increase in drug-related and polysubstance-related deaths from 2016 to 2022, along with a rise in the number of counties reporting these deaths. Additionally, a statistically significant association was found between the year and the number of deaths. The data indicates the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as evidenced by a dramatic surge in polysubstance-related deaths from 2019 to 2020.
conclusionsThe opioid crisis in Texas calls for a comprehensive strategy that includes improved data collection, equitable resource distribution, and evidence-based legislative reforms. This approach, which should be guided by empirical data, would not only address the immediate crisis but would also contribute to the broader discourse on public health policy and practice.
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