A study found a significant increase in deaths of despair during the pandemic

In addition to destroying the economy, lockdowns have been detrimental to general well-being. Children, for instance, have been significantly impacted by school closures. Additionally, various regions of the country have faced an increase in mental stress cases and suicide contemplations (especially among young adults). One study in May projected that as many as 75,000 Americans were at risk of dying from overdose or suicide.

Evidence from new research continues to echo these concerning trends.

According to a new NBER paper, data show that

the pandemic and recession were associated with a 10 to 60 percent increase in deaths of despair above already high pre-pandemic levels.

Deaths of despair are defined as those related to drug overdose, suicide, and alcohol abuse.

Generally, empirical evidence shows a positive relationship between economic hardship and deaths of despair. This is because sudden shocks to unemployment and loss of income can be detrimental to mental well-being, particularly when it comes to already economically disadvantaged individuals, leading to an increase in unhealthy behaviors such as drug abuse.

The social isolation caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, moreover, has compounded the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbating harms to well-being.

As the author of the study concluded,

Mortality in 2020 significantly exceeds what would have occurred if official COVID deaths were combined with a normal number of deaths from other causes. The demographic and time patterns of the non-COVID excess deaths (NCEDs) point to deaths of despair rather than an undercount of COVID deaths. The flow of NCEDs increased steadily from March to June and then plateaued. They were disproportionately experienced by working aged men, including men as young as aged 15 to 24.

The results of the paper are especially consistent with CDC numbers, as the author explains,

The CDC reports twelve-month moving sums of deaths from drug overdose. Each new sum involves dropping the month from 13 months ago and inserting the most recent month. During the nine months before the pandemic, each new moving sum averaged 680 deaths more than the previous. In March 2020, the new sum was 1,511 above the previous sum. April’s sum was 2,146 above that. May’s sum was 3,388 above April’s.

This data confirms the paper’s findings that non-COVID-19 excess deaths were significantly high between March and September. Additionally, the CDC data also credits synthetic opioids like Fentanyl as a leading cause of the increase through May.

While the study does not get deeper into the specific causes of the increase in deaths of despair, a lot of evidence affirms how damaging the lockdowns have been to the young and working populations, both socially and economically.