COVID-19 and Substance Use

Recent data and reports show a complex relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and rates of substance use. Drug overdose deaths have increased rapidly during the pandemic.1 At the same time, the CDC considers substance use disorder a risk factor which makes individuals more likely to become severely ill from COVID-19. Opioids slow breathing, increasing the risk for overdose and long-term damage to the brain, heart, and lungs, and leading to an increased susceptibility to contracting COVID-19 or developing a more severe case once infected. Likewise, stimulants such as methamphetamine, cocaine, and amphetamine constrict the blood vessels and may increase the risk for stroke, heart attacks, abnormal heart rhythm, seizures, and other conditions that may lead to more severe heart or lung damage in someone with COVID-19. According to a September 2020 analysis of electronic medical records, hospital patients who had received a diagnosis of opioid use disorder in the past year were 10.2 times more likely to contract COVID-19 than those without. Similarly, hospital patients who had received a diagnosis of cocaine use disorder in the past year were 6.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 than those without.2 More research is needed to better understand the relationship between substance use and COVID-19.

1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2021, COVID-19 and People at Increased Risk | Drug Overdose | CDC Injury Center

2 Jalal H, Buchanich JM, Roberts MS, Balmert LC, Zhang K, Burke DS. Changing dynamics of the drug overdose epidemic in the United States from 1979 through 2016. Science. 2018;361(6408):eaau1184. doi:10.1126/science.aau1184