General Overview
The DDRC has acquired all drug and opioid overdose mortality data for 17 states from the CDC WONDER system, spanning the years 2010 to 2022. This dataset includes detailed demographic information. The following document outlines the acquired data, identifies the relevant ICD-10 codes, and provides a comprehensive data dictionary to assist with data interpretation. This dataset is intended to support research and analysis efforts aimed at addressing the drug and opioid crisis across the region.
The data provided is based on information available from CDC WONDER at the time of download. Please note that this data may be updated or corrected without notice as new information becomes available.
Information on the variables included in the dataset is available in the DDRC's CDC WONDER Data Dictionary. Additional details on the data dictionary's creation and the ETL process can be found on the respective Technical Assistance page.
Overview of CDC WONDER System
The WONDER system provides data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS), managed by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). WONDER aims to increase access to crucial public health-related data. It includes nationwide mortality statistics that can be searched using various criteria, such as time (e.g., year, month), location (e.g., state, county), and demographic variables (e.g., age range, sex, ethnicity, race). The system generates aggregates, offering a comprehensive overview based on the selected variables.
Data Use Guidelines and Confidentiality Standards
Data from CDC WONDER is subject to the CDC’s Data Use and Restrictions. Users are prohibited from linking this data to other datasets to identify individuals or establishments. Any inadvertent discovery of such identities must not be disclosed and should be reported to the CDC.
To protect confidentiality, CDC WONDER suppresses statistics representing nine or fewer (i.e., less than 10) deaths. The CDC strictly prohibits any attempts to determine or infer suppressed values.
We comply with these terms and expect that any third parties accessing or using data from the DDRC will do the same.
Understanding Mortality Causes and ICD-10
Mortality causes are defined using the International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10). However, WONDER includes specialized codes for deaths caused by terrorism, which are not part of the ICD-10 classification system. For more information on the ICD-10 CM system, please refer to the CDC’s ICD-10 CM page.
Additionally, there are limitations to the WONDER data. As the ICD has undergone multiple revisions to reflect changes in diseases and causes of death, older data categorized under previous ICD versions, such as ICD-9, may be inconsistent with newer data. Some causes of death listed in older ICD versions may no longer exist in the updated classifications.
Acquiring CDC WONDER Mortality Data
The DDRC used the CDC WONDER Multiple Cause of Death query tool to extract mortality data from 2010 to 2022 for the 17 DDRC states. This extraction included base variables such as year and state for both all-drug and opioid-related mortality. Additional queries were made for other key variables, such as age, county, gender, ethnicity, and race. Each of these variables is stored in its own unique dataset with the base variables.
To identify all drug overdose-related deaths, we used ICD-10 codes X40–X44, X60–X64, X85, and Y10–Y14. For opioid-related overdose deaths, these codes were supplemented with ICD-10 codes T40.0–T40.4 and T40.6, which specifically denote opioid overdoses.
Technical Assistance
Detailed information on the query used to extract the CDC WONDER data, as well as the export, transform, and loading (ETL) processes, can be found on the corresponding Technical Assistance page.
DDRC Data Dictionary for Overdose Mortality Data from CDC WONDER
The DDRC created a comprehensive data dictionary using CDC’s data dictionary and disclosure information to accurately reflect the datasets exported. The goal of this comprehensive document was to demonstrate how variables in the dataset have changed over time, with the addition and removal of variables. This combined data dictionary includes information from:
Multiple Cause of Death 1999-2020 Data: "More Information" and Summary Description.
Multiple Cause of Death by Single Race 2018-2022: "More Information" and Summary Description.
This integrated dictionary provides a comprehensive overview of the datasets exported from CDC WONDER, ensuring that all relevant data and context are thoroughly documented. More details on the process used to create this document can be found here.
We recommend that users still review and reference documentation provided by the CDC WONDER for the most detailed and up-to-date information.
Information related to the variables included in the dataset is available in the DDRC's CDC WONDER Data Dictionary. Information on how the DDRC's data dictionary was created can be found on the corresponding Technical Assistance page.