America’s seniors aren’t immune to the ongoing opioid epidemic .

Among adults 65 and older, overdose deaths from fentanyl mixed with stimulants — like cocaine and methamphetamines — have surged 9,000% in the last eight years, which matches rates among younger adults.

That’s according to research from the American Society of Anesthesiologists, which was presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2025 annual meeting this week in San Antonio.

Using CDC data, the researchers analyzed 404,964 death certificates that listed fentanyl as a cause of death between 1999 and 2023.

Older adults represented 17,040 of the individuals, while younger adults, aged 25 to 64, represented 387,924.

Fentanyl-related deaths increased from 264 to 4,144 in older adults between 2015 and 2023 — a 1,470% increase. Younger

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