What Is The Life Expectancy Of A Heroin Addict?

People who use heroin face a shortened life expectancy, with some estimates placing it around 52 years old, decades below the general U.S. life expectancy. While heroin use itself remains dangerous, the landscape has shifted in recent years. In 2023, fentanyl and other synthetic opioids were involved in 92% of opioid overdose deaths, while heroin was involved in only about 5%, largely because illicit fentanyl has increasingly replaced or contaminated the heroin supply.

Despite this shift, heroin use remains a serious public health concern, contributing to long-term health complications, addiction, and premature death for those who use it regularly.

*Important note: We avoid stigmatic language such as ‘addict’ or ‘heroin user’ as much as possible. However, we will use this language in this article to inform and equip those struggling with drug use and their loved ones.

Learn more about the signs and symptoms of a heroin addict

Why Is Life Expectancy Lower For Heroin Addicts?

Life expectancy remains low for people who use heroin for a number of reasons. Chronic use takes a toll on the body, and the population using heroin has increasingly overlapped with fentanyl exposure, raising overdose risk even among people who don’t intend to use fentanyl at all. In 2023, of more than 78,000 opioid overdose deaths, the majority involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl rather than heroin alone, reflecting how illicit fentanyl has reshaped the risks associated with opioid use.

Long-term heroin use is linked to serious health complications that compound over time, including infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis from shared needles, chronic liver disease, and a heightened risk of suicide tied to the toll addiction takes on mental health. Many people who use heroin also started using at a young age, often after first misusing prescription opioids, which means health complications can take hold earlier in life and compound over a longer period of active use.

What Factors Impact The Life Expectancy Of A Heroin Addict?

Several factors impact life expectancy for those who use heroin. Many of these are caused directly by the substance, while others can be indirect factors related to heroin use.

Gender

A study conducted in Australia found that men were seven times more likely to die from heroin than their peers, but women were found to be 17 times more likely to die than their peers. It’s not known exactly why, but women appear to be more susceptible to premature death from heroin use than men.

The study concluded that heroin users lost an average of 44 years of potential life due to drug abuse.

HIV/AIDS

A major issue within the community of people who abuse heroin is contracting HIV and AIDS. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one in 10 HIV diagnoses in the U.S. can be attributed to injected drug use. Viral infections such as HIV and AIDS are transmitted through the blood or other body fluids. A heroin addict may contract the infection by sharing needles or having unprotected sex.

Needles, syringes, and other heroin injection paraphernalia may contain traces of blood or other body fluids carrying HIV. The CDC notes that HIV can live inside of a needle or syringe for up to 42 days. These are considered high-risk behaviors by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and put those involved at a higher risk of contracting or transmitting viral infections.

Chronic Liver Disease

Long-term heroin abuse can also lead to chronic liver diseases, which have been connected to both hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that affects the liver’s ability to function. This is a very contagious virus that can be transmitted through sources like food, water, or close contact with another person.

The same risks associated with contracting HIV or AIDS apply to hepatitis B and C. Sharing items like needles and other drug paraphernalia and having unprotected sex can lead to a person contracting the virus.

Fatal Overdose

Another factor that can negatively impact a heroin addict’s life expectancy is a fatal overdose on heroin. It should be noted that overdose on heroin alone, while possible, is not likely. Most cases of lethal overdose involve mixing heroin with other drugs.

Heroin is particularly dangerous when it’s mixed with central nervous system (CNS) depressants such as alcohol and benzodiazepines. Overdose is one of the leading causes of premature death in heroin addicts, but this is preventable and treatable with proper measures.

Suicide

Heroin addicts are 14 times more likely to die from suicide than their non-opioid-dependent peers.

This reality can be due to many factors related to heroin abuse, such as:

• impact of heroin on mental health
• developing or worsening symptoms of mental illness
• isolation and decrease in close relationships
• feeling hopeless and depressed

What Can Increase The Life Expectancy Of A Heroin Addict?

The fatalities associated with heroin abuse are preventable. Health complications can be treated, mental illnesses can be addressed, and the addiction can be healed with treatment.

Addiction treatment programs that can treat heroin dependence include:

• outpatient rehab programs
• inpatient rehab programs
• dual diagnosis treatment
• counseling
• cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
• dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
• medication-assisted treatment (MAT)
• medical detox

The best way to lengthen the life expectancy of a heroin addict is to treat the root issue of addiction. Without removing the drug use, health issues and mental illness cannot be resolved.