| 1. |
- Fugelstad, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Drug-related deaths : Statistics based on death certificates miss one-third of cases
- 2020
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : Sage Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 48:1, s. 29-37
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIMS: Statistics on drug-related deaths (DRD) provide crucial information on the drug situation. The European Monitoring Centre for Drug and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) has published a specification for extracting DRD from national mortality registers to be used in international comparisons. However, surprisingly little is known of the accuracy of DRD statistics derived from national mortality registers. This study assesses the accuracy of Swedish data derived from national mortality registers by comparing it with other sources of data.METHODS: We compared five Swedish datasets. Three were derived from national mortality registers, two according to a Swedish specification and one according to the EMCDDA specification. A fourth dataset was based on toxicological analyses. We used a fifth dataset, an inventory of DRD in Stockholm, to assess the completeness and coverage of the Swedish datasets.RESULTS: All datasets were extracted from high-quality registers, but still did not capture all DRD, and both the numbers and demographic characteristics varied considerably. However, the time trends were consistent between the selections. In international comparisons, data completeness and investigation procedures may impact even more on stated numbers.CONCLUSIONS: Basing international comparisons on numbers or rates of DRDs gives misleading results, but comparing trends is still meaningful.
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| 2. |
- Fugelstad, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Methadone-related deaths among youth and young adults in Sweden 2006-15
- 2021
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Ingår i: Addiction. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0965-2140 .- 1360-0443. ; 116:2, s. 319-327
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims To identify methadone-related deaths and determine the prevalence among youth and young adults in Sweden 2006-15. Design, Setting and Participants National retrospective registry study comparing data from all forensic autopsy examinations and toxicology cases involving methadone during 2006-15 in individuals aged 15-29 years with police records, previous pharmaceutical prescriptions and health-care episodes. Measurements Multinomial logistic regression. To assess the factors contributing to the deaths, we compared individuals with and without previous substance use treatment and opioid use-related diagnoses with regard to previous opioid agonist treatment (OAT), psychiatric care and previous pain medication. To assess the circumstances of deaths, we analyzed the presence of other drugs and other factors at time of death. Findings We identified 269 methadone-related deaths, and the rate increased during the study period. Seventy-two (27%) cases had not previously received substance use treatment, 112 (42%) had received treatment but had no opioid use-related diagnosis and 85 (32%) had received treatment and had an opioid use-related diagnosis. In total, only 10 individuals had been prescribed methadone during the year before death. Prescriptions of benzodiazepines (60%), antidepressants (62%) and opioids for pain (22%) the year before death were common. Most deaths occurred during sleep with a time lag from ingestion of methadone. Conclusion Prescription opioid- and methadone-related deaths increased in the group aged 15-29 years in Sweden between 2006 and 2015. Exposure to non-prescribed methadone and prescribed benzodiazepines, antidepressants and opioids for pain appears to be common in drug-related deaths in youth and young adults in Sweden.
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| 3. |
- Fugelstad, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Oxycodone-related deaths in Sweden 2006-2018
- 2022
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Ingår i: Drug And Alcohol Dependence. - : Elsevier BV. - 0376-8716 .- 1879-0046. ; 234
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: To identify and characterize oxycodone related deaths in Sweden from 2006 to 2018 and to compare them to other opioid-related deaths.Methods: To assess the factors contributing to the deaths, we used multinomial logistic regression to compare oxycodone-related deaths extracted from all forensic autopsy examinations and toxicology cases in the age groups 15-34 (reference group), 35-54 and 55-74 with regard to sex, presence of benzodiazepines and alcohol at the time of death, prescription of oxycodone, benzodiazepines and antidepressants, previous substance use related (SUD) treatment, and manner of death. The oxycodone related deaths were compared with deaths with presence of other opioids.Result: We identified 575 oxycodone-related deaths, and the rate increased during the study period from 0.10 to 1.12 per 100,000 in parallel with an increase of oxycodone prescriptions from 3.17 to 30.33 per 1000. Oxycodone-related deaths amounted to 10.0% of all opioid-related deaths. The deaths occurred mainly in older patients previously being prescribed oxycodone. Benzodiazepines were present at the time of death in 403 (70%) and alcohol in 259 (45%). Prescriptions of any opioid for pain (61%), oxycodone (50%), benzodiazepines (67%) and antidepressants (55%) were common. Only 15% had received treatment for SUD during the last year.Conclusion: Oxycodone-related deaths increased in Sweden between 2006 and 2018 in parallel to an increase in oxycodone prescriptions. The increase occurred mainly in older patients being prescribed oxycodone for pain. There might be specific interventions needed to avoid oxycodone-related deaths compared to other opioidrelated deaths associated with illicit opioid use.
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