The rate of opioid-related deaths in Ontario has increased almost four fold (285 percent) over the past 25 years, highlighting safety concerns around these analgesics commonly prescribed for the treatment of pain.
The ODPRN has worked over the past several years to capture and report trends in opioid-related deaths in Ontario. Current data are needed to understand the impact of the introduction of new opioid prescribing policies, the reported rise in illicit fentanyl availability, as well as changes to formulation and availability of prescription opioids.
This report describes the trends in opioid-related deaths, the opioids involved in each death, and the characteristics of individuals who died of an opioid-related cause in Ontario up to the end of 2015.
NEW! Report Supplement
These recent trends have suggested that there may be important differences in opioid prescribing and related adverse events between men and women. Given stakeholder feedback received following the publication of this report, we have generated this supplemental report outlining some of the trends and characteristics of opioid-related deaths, stratified by sex.
Access the full report and associated resources:
Report Supplement Infographic Press Release
