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American Public Health Association, American Journal of Public Health, 1(110), p. 98-105, 2020

DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2019.305368

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The Geographic Distribution of Fentanyl-Involved Overdose Deaths in Cook County, Illinois

Journal article published in 2020 by Elizabeth D. Nesoff ORCID, Charles C. Branas, Silvia S. Martins
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.

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Abstract

Objectives. To contrast the geographic distribution of fentanyl-involved and non–fentanyl-involved fatal overdoses between 2014 and 2018 in Cook County, Illinois. Methods. We conducted a spatial analysis using locations of fentanyl-involved fatal overdoses (n = 1433) compared with nonfentanyl opioid and polydrug fatal overdoses (n = 1838) collected through the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office from 2014 to 2018. We also used logistic regression to test significant individual- and neighborhood-level covariates. Results. Fentanyl overdoses geographically clustered more than nonfentanyl overdoses, and this difference was statistically significant. One area in particular showed significantly elevated risk for fentanyl overdoses (P < .05) located in 2 specific neighborhoods of Chicago. The odds of a fentanyl-involved overdose were significantly increased for men, Blacks, Latinos/as, and younger individuals. Neighborhood deprivation score was the only significant neighborhood-level predictor (odds ratio = 1.11; 95% confidence interval = 1.07, 1.17). Conclusions. Fentanyl-involved fatal overdoses follow a distinct geographic distribution associated with resource deprivation in neighborhoods where they occur. This suggests an evolving bifurcated drug market, with drug markets in resource-deprived neighborhoods disproportionately likely to include fentanyl.