Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Boomers’ Excess Mortality Due to Substance Abuse in the United States

Enrique Acosta , Université de Montréal
Alain Gagnon, Université de Montréal
Nadine Ouellette, Université de Montréal
Alyson A. van Raalte, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Robert R. Bourbeau, Université de Montréal
Marilia Nepomuceno, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

Mortality related to drug and alcohol abuse are significant public health issues. Most research into the contemporary increases in opioid and alcohol-related mortality aggregates death counts across wide age groups and examines trends over relatively short time periods. As a result, overlooked are the large generational differences in excess mortality from behavioural-driven causes prior to the current crisis. Boomers have a higher propensity to engage in risky behaviours compared to other generations What is not known is whether these strong generational differences in behavioural-driven mortality are a feature common to all races and ethnic groups or are more heavily concentrated among some of them. Our aim is to identify the differences by race and ethnicity in the patterns of boomers’ excess mortality due to substance abuse over time. Preliminary results suggest that this excess is not exclusive to specific periods or racial-ethnic groups, although there are important variations

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 Presented in Session 112. Future of Health: Consequences of Cohort Differences in Health Behaviors