title: Increasing US mortality due to accidental poisoning: the role of the baby boom cohort.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In this study we examine whether the recent, sharp increase in mortality in the United States due to accidental poisoning since 2000 is the result of the aging of the baby boom cohort or, instead, a historical trend apparent among decedents of all ages.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted an age-period-cohort analysis using data from the US Vital Statistics and the US Census covering the period 1968-2007.
  
  
  METHODS
  The United States population aged 15-64 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cause of death and demographic data as recorded on death certificates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The increase in mortality due to accidental poisoning since the year 2000 stems primarily from a historical period effect across all ages for whites, but results in large part from a rate spike in the baby boom cohort among blacks. For all demographic groups baby boomers had higher odds of death due to accidental poisoning than the cohorts that came before and after them. Historical influences acting across all ages led to an increase in accidental poisoning mortality that was almost 10-fold for whites and threefold for blacks over the study period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While the recent, sharp increase in accidental poisoning mortality stems in part from the aging of the baby boom cohort, substantially more of the increase results from influences unique to recent years that have affected all age groups. These results point to the need to bolster overdose prevention programs and policies as the historical increase in accidental poisoning mortality appears to continue unabated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA. richard.miech@ucdenver.edu
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Miech
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koester
authors.forename: Brook
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dorsey-Holliman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000465:Algorithms; D003710:Demography / Q000639:trends*; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000401:mortality; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055553:Prescription Drugs / Q000506:poisoning*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000401:mortality*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D055553:Prescription Drugs