10TV: Overdose Deaths On the Rise Nationwide

According to the CDC, deaths from overdoses increased in 2020 by 29 percent from the previous year.  About 93,000 Americans died from an overdose last year.  What's behind the increase?  10TV asked that question to Krisanna Deppen, MD, who specializes in addiction medicine at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center.

"With a pandemic leading to more social isolation and economic downturn, I think that really added some fuel to the fire, perhaps, of this escalation of both substance use and overdose deaths, " Dr. Deppen told 10TV.  

Locally, there was a 45 percent increase in overdose deaths in Franklin county from 2019 to 2020.