Number of addictive substances used related to increased risk of unnatural death: a combined medico-legal and case-record study.
(2009) In BMC Psychiatry 9(Aug 4).- Abstract
- BACKGROUND: Substance use disorders have repeatedly been found to lead to premature death, i.e. drug-related death by disease, fatal intoxications, or trauma (accidents, suicide, undetermined suicide, and homicide). The present study examined the relationship between multi-drug substance use and natural and unnatural death. METHODS: All consecutive, autopsied patients who had been in contact with the Addiction Centre in Malmö University Hospital from 1993 to 1997 inclusive were investigated. Drug abuse was investigated blindly in the case records and related to the cause of death in 387 subjects. RESULTS: Every substance apart from alcohol used previously in life added to the risk of unnatural death in a linear way. There were independent... (More)
- BACKGROUND: Substance use disorders have repeatedly been found to lead to premature death, i.e. drug-related death by disease, fatal intoxications, or trauma (accidents, suicide, undetermined suicide, and homicide). The present study examined the relationship between multi-drug substance use and natural and unnatural death. METHODS: All consecutive, autopsied patients who had been in contact with the Addiction Centre in Malmö University Hospital from 1993 to 1997 inclusive were investigated. Drug abuse was investigated blindly in the case records and related to the cause of death in 387 subjects. RESULTS: Every substance apart from alcohol used previously in life added to the risk of unnatural death in a linear way. There were independent increased risks of fatal heroin overdoses or undetermined suicide. Death by suicide and violent death were unrelated to additional abuse. CONCLUSION: The number of drugs used was related to an increased risk of unnatural death by undetermined suicide (mainly fatal intoxications) and heroin overdose. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1470038
- author
- Brådvik, Louise LU ; Berglund, Mats LU ; Frank, Arne LU ; Lindgren, Anna LU and Löwenhielm, Peter LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2009
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- BMC Psychiatry
- volume
- 9
- issue
- Aug 4
- article number
- 48
- publisher
- BioMed Central (BMC)
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000269618700001
- pmid:19653902
- scopus:69549114616
- pmid:19653902
- ISSN
- 1471-244X
- DOI
- 10.1186/1471-244X-9-48
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Clinical Health Promotion Centre (013065010), Psychiatry/Primary Care/Public Health (013240500), Division of Health Economics and Forensic Medicine (Closed 2012) (013040050), Psychiatry (Lund) (013303000), Mathematical Statistics (011015003)
- id
- 28992f8f-3202-4175-9fc8-1d9c09626191 (old id 1470038)
- alternative location
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19653902?dopt=Abstract
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 09:32:19
- date last changed
- 2022-05-17 00:52:55
@article{28992f8f-3202-4175-9fc8-1d9c09626191, abstract = {{BACKGROUND: Substance use disorders have repeatedly been found to lead to premature death, i.e. drug-related death by disease, fatal intoxications, or trauma (accidents, suicide, undetermined suicide, and homicide). The present study examined the relationship between multi-drug substance use and natural and unnatural death. METHODS: All consecutive, autopsied patients who had been in contact with the Addiction Centre in Malmö University Hospital from 1993 to 1997 inclusive were investigated. Drug abuse was investigated blindly in the case records and related to the cause of death in 387 subjects. RESULTS: Every substance apart from alcohol used previously in life added to the risk of unnatural death in a linear way. There were independent increased risks of fatal heroin overdoses or undetermined suicide. Death by suicide and violent death were unrelated to additional abuse. CONCLUSION: The number of drugs used was related to an increased risk of unnatural death by undetermined suicide (mainly fatal intoxications) and heroin overdose.}}, author = {{Brådvik, Louise and Berglund, Mats and Frank, Arne and Lindgren, Anna and Löwenhielm, Peter}}, issn = {{1471-244X}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{Aug 4}}, publisher = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}}, series = {{BMC Psychiatry}}, title = {{Number of addictive substances used related to increased risk of unnatural death: a combined medico-legal and case-record study.}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-9-48}}, doi = {{10.1186/1471-244X-9-48}}, volume = {{9}}, year = {{2009}}, }