Racial stereotypes may play a role in the U.S. opioid overdose epidemic, according to Business Insider.
Here are five things to know:
1. According to recently released data from the CDC, the rate of white Americans dying annually from drug overdose has roughly doubled from 2002 to 2014, while the rate of black Americans and Hispanics who die from drug overdoses has remained almost unchanged over the same time frame.
2. Andrew Kolodny, MD, chief medical officer for The Phoenix House in Hammond, Ind., said these trends might have a direct connection to some physicians allowing racist stereotypes to influence the way they prescribe opioid pain killers.
3. Studies have shown that some physicians are less likely to prescribe opioid painkillers to black patients, while other research has suggested that black patients may be less likely to report serious pain. These results came from a 2003 study published in The American Journal of Public Health and a 2011 study published in the journal Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research.
4. White Americans of all ages are about twice as likely to die from a drug overdose as black Americans, and four times as likely to die of a drug overdose as Hispanics.
5. According to the CDC, more than 47,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2014.