Many U.S. Counties See Substance Abuse, Mental Health Death Rates Spike

A county-by-county study of deaths in the U.S. revealed an alarming increase in fatalities related to substance abuse and mental health in certain parts of the country. Deaths caused by substance abuse and mental disorders were especially high in the Appalachian regions of Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia. In clusters of rural counties in those three states, those fatalities went up by more than 1,000% between 1980 and 2014.

But the phenomenon is hardly limited to that area: Those same causes of death increased 200% or more in 2,000-plus counties across the United States . . .