Opioid death rates higher in Thunder Bay than rest of Ontario: study

— Powerful opioid drugs are killing people in the northern city of Thunder Bay at a higher rate than anywhere else in Ontario, a new report states.

In addition, the report finds the rate of visits to district emergency departments or hospital admissions because of opioid overdoses are almost double the provincial average.

Over the past 12 years, according to the study, 220 people in the Thunder Bay district died from overdoses. The worst year appears to have been 2014, which saw 17.4 deaths per 100,000 people, compared to the Ontario rate of 4.9 deaths per 100,000.

The report by a task force comprising health-care providers, first responders and academics finds several factors play a role in the higher rates.

“Poverty, unemployment, accessibility of services, and housing costs are barriers to achieving good health outcomes,” the report states. “Community partners who provide services to people who use drugs indicate that there is a lack of safe, affordable housing for their clients.”

According to the report, almost one in five residents in the Thunder Bay district were prescribed opioids in 2016. The vast majority of prescriptions were for treatment of pain, while a small number were for treating addictions.

While most fatal overdoses in Ontario are attributable to fentanyl, the main killer in Thunder Bay is methadone, the report says. The reason is likely due to both appropriate and excessive prescription of methadone to treat addictions to other drugs, or due to inappropriate diversion of the drug to the streets.

While men aged 25 to 44 make up the largest group heading to Ontario emergency departments for overdose treatment, it is women in that age group who make the most ER visits in Thunder Bay.

Overall, the report says, the rate of ER visits in Thunder Bay for opioid overdoses jumped from 32.9 per 100,000 people in 2005 to 53.4 per 100,000 people in 2016.