Sreemoyee Chatterjee
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Written By: Sreemoyee Chatterjee | Published : November 14, 2018 7:37 PM IST
Image credits by: Opioid overdose deaths © Shutterstock
A recent study carried out by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh showed that US countries that receive more opioid-related pharmaceutical industry payments have recorded more opioid related deaths, according to a recent media report. Harrison County in Kentucky and Cabell County and Wayne Country in West Virginia are the top trhree countries with the highest concentration of opioid-related deaths.
The new report published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine revealed that US countries where the doctors got more payments from opioid manufacturers witnessed a large number of opioid related deaths compared to other countries. The media report highlighted that the researchers compared government data on overdose deaths with payments data gathered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
"This is provocative data that can really serve as a substrate for us to do more work," reportedly said Dr Benjamin Davies, one of the authors of the study and an associate professor of urology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
The researchers have found a strong link between the drugmaker payments and deaths. According to them, every $10,000 increase in payments was associated with almost a 1 person increase in the rate of opioid-related deaths. But the researchers have also warned the public to not jump to conclusions too soon as they believe more follow-up studies are required to establish the study.
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