NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Health officials say Tennessee saw a record number of overdose deaths in 2016.
A state Department of Health news release Monday says 1,631 Tennesseans died from drug overdoses last year, a 12 percent increase from 1,451 in 2015.
Department of Health Commissioner John Dreyzehner says state data show illicit drugs, including fentanyl, are driving the increase. Fentanyl-related deaths increased 74 percent, from 169 to 294, from 2015 to 2016.
The biggest fentanyl-related increase came in people ages 25 to 34, where 42 recorded deaths in 2015 increased to 114 last year.
Officials say heroin was associated with 260 deaths in 2016, a 26 percent increase over the previous year.