The DOI matches its Crossref record; 43 of the 43 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on drug overdose-related deaths in the United States and Canada: a systematic review of observational studies and analysis of public health surveillance data
Open accessAbstract
Background: There are preliminary indications that the trajectory of drug overdose-related deaths in North America has been exacerbated due to the novel coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19). As such, the impact of COVID-19 on drug overdose-related deaths was examined through a systematic review of the literature and percentage change analyses of surveillance data. Methods: Systematic searches in electronic databases were conducted, a topical issue brief and bibliography were reviewed, reference lists of included studies were searched and expert consultations were held to identify studies (Registration # CRD42021230223). Observational studies from the United States and Canada were eligible for inclusion if drug overdose-related deaths were assessed in quantitative or qualitative analyses onwards from at least March 2020. In addition, percentage changes comparing drug overdose-related deaths in the second annual quarter (Q2 2020 [April to June]) with the first annual quarter (Q1 2020 [January to March]) were generated using national and subnational data from public health surveillance systems and reports from jurisdictions in the United States and Canada. Results: Nine studies were included in the systematic review, eight from the United States and one from Canada. The maximum outcome assessment period in the included studies extended until September 2020. Drug overdose-related deaths after the onset of COVID-19 were higher compared with the months leading up to the pandemic in 2020 and the comparative months in 2019. In additional percentage change analyses, drug overdose-related deaths increased by 2 to 60% in jurisdictions in the United States and by 58% in Canada when comparing Q2 2020 with Q1 2020. Conclusions: Drug overdose-related deaths increased after the onset of COVID-19. The current situation necessitates a multi-pronged approach, encompassing expanded access to substance use disorder treatment, undisrupted access to harm reduction services, emphasis on risk reduction strategies, provision of a safe drug supply and decriminalization of drug use.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Figures
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Most notable are the increases in drug- related overdose deaths in the US, which have skyrocketed over the past decade and further accelerated during the COVID pan demic 7,8 .”
From Substance use disorders: a comprehensive update of classification, epidemiology, neurobiology, clinical aspects, treatment and prevention (2023) · cites this paper as [7]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: the PRISMA statement
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & for the PRISMA Group (2009) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.b2535 · Cited by 83,823
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & The PRISMA Group (2009) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097 · Cited by 64,042
Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA Statement.
(2009) · PubMed Central · Cited by 44,859
A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019
Zhu, N., Zhang, D., Wang, W., Li, X., Yang, B., Song, J., Zhao, X., Huang, B., Shi, W., Lu, R., et al. (2020) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmoa2001017 · Cited by 28,244
Zhou, F., Yu, T., Du, R., Fan, G., Liu, Y., Liu, Z., Xiang, J., Wang, Y., Song, B., Gu, X., et al. (2020) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(20)30566-3 · Cited by 27,263
Wang, G., Ma, R., Qiao, G., Wada, K., Aizawa, Y., & Satoh, T. (2015) · Integrative Medicine International · doi:10.1159/000368408 · Cited by 18,762
(2002) · Cited by 13,211
Holmes, E. A., O'Connor, R. C., Perry, V. H., Tracey, I., Wessely, S., Arseneault, L., Ballard, C., Christensen, H., Cohen Silver, R., Everall, I., et al. (2020) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(20)30168-1 · Cited by 5,715
WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard
e, C. R. D. I. (2020) · Bangladesh Physiotherapy Journal · doi:10.46945/bpj.10.1.03.01 · Cited by 5,465
Guidance on Conducting a Systematic Literature Review
Xiao, Y., & Watson, M. (2019) · Journal of Planning Education and Research · doi:10.1177/0739456x17723971 · Cited by 3,467
Research works printed but not linked: 6
- Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (Public Health Ontario). Rapid review: Substance use-related harms and risk factors during periods of disruption. Toronto, Ontario: Queen's Printer for Ontario; 2020.
- British Columbia Coroners Service. Illicit drug toxicity deaths in BC January 1, 2010 – November 30, 2020. Burnaby, British Columbia: British Columbia Coroners Service; 2020.
- Alter A, Yeager C. The consequences of COVID-19 on the overdose epidemic: overdoses are increasing. Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program: Washington, District of Columbia; 2020.
- Georgia Department of Public Health. Updated suspected drug overdose increases in Georgia amid COVID-19 Atlanta. Georgia: Georgia Department of Public Health; 2020.
- Giesel S, DeLaquil M, Wright N. Drug overdose deaths among Minnesota residents from January through June 2020: drug overdose deaths during the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. Minnesota Department of Health: Saint Paul, Minnesota; 2020.
- Georgia Department of Public Health. Opioid overdose surveillance preliminary report Georgia, 2019. Atlanta, Georgia: Georgia Department of Public Health; 2020.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–101 of 101
Zanette, M., Enns, B., Carter, A., Compton, M., Daly, P., Davison, C., Gustafson, R., Hedden, L., Kerr, T. H., Schnepel, K., et al. (2026) · International Journal of Drug Policy · doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2026.105509
Metadata
- Authors
- Imtiaz, S., Nafeh, F., Russell, C., Ali, F., Elton-Marshall, T., & Rehm, J.
- Affiliations
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Imtiaz, Sameer
- Venue
- Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
- Published
- 2021-11-29
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 87-87
- ISSN
- 1747-597X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8628272
- OpenAlex
- W3217757484
- Cited by
- 101
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 24
- FWCI
- 3.21
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Substance Abuse Treatment Prevention and Policy (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- uO Research (University of Ottawa) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
- TSpace (University of Toronto) (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (CUG-171602)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic, drug overdose deaths, opioid overdose, substance use disorders, harm reduction, drug decriminalization, risk mitigation strategies, substance use disorder treatment access, disease surveillance, United States, Canada
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Canada, Humans, United States, Pandemics, Public Health Surveillance, Drug Overdose
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
