Substance-abuse, mental-illness deaths up sharply in rural U.S.

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Substance-abuse, mental-illness deaths up sharply in rural U.S.

UW institute reports on changes in mortality since 1980

More than 2,000 U.S. counties witnessed increases of 200 percent or more in deaths related to substance abuse and mental disorders since 1980, including clusters of counties in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio with alarming surges over 1,000 percent. 

The data comes from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.