Health Experts Say Pandemic Could Lead to 154,000 ‘Deaths of Despair’ Due to Substance Abuse, Suicide

Well Being Trust study calls it an epidemic within the pandemic.

Medical workers and police treat a woman who has overdosed on heroin in Warren, Ohio, on July 14, 2017. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Health experts warn that as pandemic-driven hardship puts added strain on the mental health of Americans, tens of thousands of lives may be lost due to outbreak-fueled drug or alcohol abuse and suicide.

Public health group Well Being Trust, in a new study published on May 8 (pdf), states that the COVID-19 outbreak could lead as many as 154,037 Americans to die additional “deaths of despair.”