The heart of the opioid epidemic that killed 665,341 people in the United States between 2005 and 2020 shifted geographically from the Northwest to the East, according to a new geographical analysis. In a study published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health — Americas, epidemiologists at the University of Cincinnati tracked the epicenter of this life-shattering epidemic over space and time across the country, driven largely by a move from prescription opiates to heroin to synthetic substances like fentanyl.

Full study: https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2025/04/epicenter-of-opioid-epidemic-shifts-with-drug-preferences.html