U.S. Deaths From Infective Endocarditis Increasing in the Young

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 9, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- The risk for death from infective endocarditis (IE) increased twofold among young U.S. residents aged 15 to 44 years during 1999 to 2020, according to a research letter published online Nov. 9 in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

Laura McLaughlin, M.D., from the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City, and colleagues characterized trends in mortality rates from IE among young U.S. residents (aged 15 to 44 years) and in relation to drug abuse using the Multiple Cause of Death Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 1999 and 2000. Age-adjusted mortality rates standardized to 2000 U.S. census per 100,000 persons were reported.

The researchers found that in the overall U.S. population, the IE mortality rate for the entire study period was 1.9 and decreased from 2.1 in 1999 to 1.8 in 2020. During the same period, among young U.S. residents, mortality rates increased from 0.3 to 0.6. Mortality rates tripled for people aged 15 to 34 years, from 0.1 to 0.3. In 2020, young people accounted for 10.0 percent of all IE deaths, an increase from 6.8 percent in 1999. Of all people who died of IE, the percent of people who inject drugs increased from 1.1 to 3.0 percent from 1999 to 2020. Among the young, the corresponding increase was from 10.2 to 19.5 percent.

"The number of young people in the United States who die of infective endocarditis is increasing, and the ongoing opioid epidemic, specifically injectable drug abuse, appears to be a significant cause," a coauthor said in a statement.

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