More working age Ohioans dying, institute’s research shows

The deaths correlates with a lower labor force participation rate compared to previous years in Ohio and in the U.S. In April 2007, Ohio had a labor force participation rate at 67.3% compared to 61.5% in April 2022 and 61.8% in March 2023.

Health Policy Institute of Ohio’s research analyzed data from the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Public Health Data Warehouse, finding there were 25,885 deaths among working age Ohioans in 2007 compared to 39,034 deaths in 2021. If the annual number of deaths had remained constant between 2007 and 2021, researchers found 58,344 fewer working-age Ohioans would have died.

The deaths were driven by addiction, violence, suicide, and chronic disease, the report says.

Deaths linked to COVID-19 also contributed to the increased deaths among working age Ohioans, the institute found, accounting for 13% of deaths among working age adults in 2021.

Unintentional injuries, including unintentional drug overdose deaths and motor vehicle crashes, increased the most from 2007 to 2021 among the leading causes of death by 123%.

By 2020 rates, Montgomery County was experiencing a rate 61.1 deaths by unintentional drug overdoses per 100,000 deaths, according to Public Health - Dayton and Montgomery County’s community health assessment. That is compared to a rate of 45.6 per 100,000 deaths in Ohio and 25.8 per 100,000 deaths in the U.S.

“We’re double the general U.S. rate,” Waite said.

The latest figures have Montgomery County doing somewhat better, with 316 accidental drug overdose deaths in Montgomery County reported in 2022, compared to 337 in 2021. For 2023, preliminary figures from the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office show 126 accidental overdose deaths between January and May, which is a 6.7% decrease compared to January through May of 2022, which reported 135 overdose deaths.

Ohio has worsened when it comes to mental and behavioral health, the institute found, saying Ohio’s behavioral health workforce is not large enough to meet the growing demand. They found approximately 25% of adults with a mental illness did not get treatment in 2018-2019. The institute also found approximately 70% of mental health needs in the state are not being met by the current supply of mental health professionals.

“I work on medical units, and I would say that our sense is the number of patients that we see on a daily basis, it probably is quadrupled or more in the last handful of years,” Waite said.

While the state is trying to catch up in terms of mental health treatment, Ohio has improved with more evidence-based addiction treatment being offered. The estimated percentage of outpatient substance use disorder treatment facilities that offer methadone/buprenorphine maintenance or naltrexone treatment increased from 45% in 2018 to 56% in 2020.

For people suffering from a substance use disorder, it impacts them at every turn, Waite said, making it difficult for them to be functional, keep a schedule, and be accountable to a job. This can also impact their mental health adversely.

“It creates social issues, stigma, self esteem problems. Their cravings cause emotional distress and physical distress as well,” Waite said.

Patients dealing with a substance use disorder may also face a dual diagnosis with a mental health disorder, said Dr. Rick Bowers, medical director at South Community, a private not-for-profit corporation providing mental health and substance use care. Another difficulty in treating mental illness is that some patients have treatment-resistant depression, where antidepressants aren’t enough.

Only about a third of patients in one study experienced remission from their depression symptoms in their first treatment with an antidepressant, Bowers said. A lot of people get a response, but it may look more like a 50% reduction in symptoms.

“Even after four medication trials, you’ll still have a third of people (who are called) treatment resistant depression,” Bowers said. This is where it’s important to seek out coping skills and supportive therapy while more research is being done on what medications can assist in treating mental illnesses like depression and anxiety.

“We would like to see people as soon as you’re starting to experience symptoms,” said Lisa Carter, CEO of South Community. “You want to normalize that conversation, and you want people to get help as quickly as they can.”

In terms of supporting the workforce, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio said leveraging the state’s recent success in attracting new employers can help increase employment and income, which in turn can reduce poverty.

“On the workforce side, we talk about the new jobs that have been announced, like Intel and Honda and electric vehicle batteries and biotech. There have been many announcements around the state of new investments in new jobs in Ohio,” said Amy Bush Stevens, vice president of research and evaluation at the Health Policy Institute of Ohio.

Ohio can build upon that success by connecting it to the state’s educational system, Bush Stevens said, which includes community colleges and career technical programs. Connecting that infrastructure can then help people with pathways to jobs that support a self-sufficient wage, she said, which will then contribute to better health.

“We know that better health contributes to the ability to be in the workforce,” Bush Stevens said.

By the numbers

The top 10 leading causes of death in 2021 for ages 15-64 in Ohio, according to the Health Policy Institute of Ohio:

Data was sourced from the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Public Health Data Warehouse.