Recessions may be good for overall physical health, but this one could be different. Batten professor Chris Ruhm presented an online talk Wednesday offering an economist’s view of the overall health effects of the COVID-19 recession. His talk was the school’s third installment of its expert chat series about COVID-19.

The number of Americans dying from drug overdoses has risen rapidly in the last decade, with opioids viewed as the primary culprit. However, recent research suggests that opioids are not the only drug involved. According to Batten professor of economics, Christopher J. Ruhm, half of the overdose deaths have involved polydrug use and deaths involving nonopioid drugs are rising almost as fast as those involving opioids.