The number of healthy years of life lost to drug abuse in Connecticut rose 3.6 percent in 2017, which was lower than the national average of 4.5 percent, according to new analysis by an abuse treatment provider with operations in multiple states.
Tennessee-based American Addiction Centers, which lists treatment facilities in eight other states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, analyzed data compiled by the World Health Organization.
AAC, which is publicly traded, analyzed data for three specific drugs: amphetamines, cocaine and opioids.
In Connecticut, those drugs were the cause of 51,659 “healthy years of life lost,” according to AAC’s analysis, which was up 3.6 percent from 2016. The figure represents an estimate of the average years a person would have lived if he or she had not died prematurely.
Opioids made up the bulk of Connecticut’s number, with 36,457 healthy years lost.
Montana had the highest increase in 2017, at 10.1 percent, while Massachusetts was the lowest at 0.8 percent.
