New Mexico Opioid Summary

Opioid-Related Overdose Deaths

In 2016, there were 349 opioid-related overdose deaths­­­ in New Mexico—a rate of 17.5 deaths per 100,000 persons—compared to the national rate of 13.3 deaths per 100,000. Since 2012, the number of opioid overdose deaths attributed to heroin increased from 104 to 161 deaths and deaths attributed to synthetic opioids rose from 37 to 78. Prescription Opioids increased through 2014, but since then have decreased from 257 to 186 deaths.

Opioid Pain Reliever Prescriptions

In 2015, New Mexico providers wrote 70 opioid prescriptions per 100 persons (approximately 1.4 million prescriptions)—equivalent to the average national rate of 70 prescriptions per 100 persons (IMS Health, 2016).

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)

The incidence of NAS in New Mexico has increased from 3.7 cases per 1,000 births in 2009 to 8.5 cases per 1,000 in 2013. The average across the 28 states included in the 2013 analysis was 6.0 per 1,000 births (CDC, MMWR, 2014).

HIV Prevalence and HIV Diagnoses Attributed to Injection Drug Use (IDU)

• U.S. Incidence: In 2015, 9.1 percent (3,594¹) of the 39,513 new diagnoses of HIV in the United States were attributed to IDU. Among new cases, 8.2 percent (2,614¹) of cases among men and 13.2 percent (980) of cases among women were transmitted via IDU (CDC).
• U.S. Prevalence: In 2014, 955,081 Americans were living with a diagnosed HIV infection—a rate of 299.5 per 100,000 persons. Of these, 18.1 percent (131,056¹) of males and 22.6 percent (52,013) of females were living with HIV attributed to IDU (CDC).
• State Incidence: Of the new HIV cases in 2015, 135 occurred in New Mexico, with 13.5 percent¹ of new cases in males and 12.5 percent of new cases in females attributed to IDU (AIDSVu).
• State Prevalence: In 2014, an estimated 3,096 persons were living with a diagnosed HIV infection in New Mexico—a rate of 180 cases per 100,000 persons. Of these, 18.8 percent¹ of males and 26.1 percent of females were living with HIV attributed to IDU (AIDSVu).

Hepatitis C (HCV) Prevalence and HCV Diagnoses Attributed to Injection Drug Use

• U.S. Incidence: In 2015, there were 181,871 reported cases of chronic HCV and 33,900 estimated cases of acute HCV² (CDC). Where data were available, 64.2 percent of acute cases reported IDU (CDC).
• U.S. Prevalence: An estimated 3.5 million Americans are living with HCV, including approximately 2.7 million living with chronic infections (CDC).
• State Incidence: In 2015, New Mexico reported 3,680 cases of chronic HCV and 40 cases of acute HCV (1.9 cases per 100,000 persons) (CDC).
• State Prevalence: An estimated 28,000 to 67,500 persons are living with HCV, including up to 45,000 living with chronic HCV (New Mexico Hepatitis C Coalition).

Additional Resources

• New Mexico Department of Health, Substance Abuse Epidemiology Program and Opioid Safety
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Opioid Overdose
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Annual Surveillance Report of Drug-Related Risks and Outcomes (2017)
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Behavioral Health Barometer New Mexico, Volume 4 (2017)

Notes

1. Includes transmission to individuals with injection drug use as a risk factor.
2. 2015 estimate after adjusting for under-ascertainment and under-reporting. Data for 2015 were unavailable for Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Iowa, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Wyoming.