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Prediction of psychiatric comorbidity on premature death in a cohort of patients with substance use disorders : A 42-year follow-up

Fridell, Mats LU ; Bäckström, Martin LU ; Hesse, Morten ; Krantz, Peter LU ; Perrin, Sean LU orcid and Nyhlén, Anna LU (2019) In BMC Psychiatry 19(1). p.150-150
Abstract

Background: We need to better understand how the use of different substances and psychiatric comorbidity influence premature death generally and cause-specific death by overdose, intoxication and somatic disorders in people with substance use disorders. Method: A cohort of 1405 patients consecutively admitted to a Swedish detoxification unit for substance use disorders in 1970-1995 was followed-up for 42 years. Substances were identified by toxicological analyses. Mortality figures were obtained from a national registry. Causes of death were diagnosed by forensic autopsy in 594 patients deceased by 2012. Predictions were calculated by competing risks analysis. Results: Forty-two per cent of the cohort died during follow-up; more men... (More)

Background: We need to better understand how the use of different substances and psychiatric comorbidity influence premature death generally and cause-specific death by overdose, intoxication and somatic disorders in people with substance use disorders. Method: A cohort of 1405 patients consecutively admitted to a Swedish detoxification unit for substance use disorders in 1970-1995 was followed-up for 42 years. Substances were identified by toxicological analyses. Mortality figures were obtained from a national registry. Causes of death were diagnosed by forensic autopsy in 594 patients deceased by 2012. Predictions were calculated by competing risks analysis. Results: Forty-two per cent of the cohort died during follow-up; more men than women (46.3% vs 30.4%). The standardised mortality ratio (SMR) was calculated as the ratio of observed deaths in males and females in specific age groups in the cohort versus expected deaths in corresponding groups in the general population. SMR was 5.68 for men (CI 95%; 5.04-6.11) and 4.98 (CI 95%; 4.08-5.88) for women. The crude mortality rate (number of deaths divided by number of person observation years) was 2.28% for men and 1.87% for women. Opiates predicted increased risk of premature death while amphetamine and cannabis predicted lower risk. Comorbid psychiatric disorders were identified in 378 cases and personality disorders in 763 cases. Primary psychoses or mood/depression and anxiety disorders predicted a higher risk of premature mortality. Death by overdose was predicted by male gender, younger age at admission to substance treatment, opiate use, and comorbid depression and anxiety syndromes. Cannabis and amphetamine use predicted a lower risk of overdose. Death by intoxication was predicted by male gender, use of sedatives/hypnotics or alcohol/mixed substances, primary psychoses and depression/anxiety syndromes. Premature death by somatic disorder was predicted by male gender and alcohol/mixed abuse. Conclusion: Psychiatric comorbid disorders were important risk factors for premature drug-related death. Early identification of these factors may be life-saving in the treatment of patients with substance use disorders.

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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
42-year follow-up, Cohort study, Drug abuse, Personality disorder, Premature death, Psychiatric comorbidity, Somatic comorbidity
in
BMC Psychiatry
volume
19
issue
1
article number
150
pages
150 - 150
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85066050558
  • pmid:31092225
ISSN
1471-244X
DOI
10.1186/s12888-019-2098-3
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
da911c83-89a5-4020-84d5-9cabcf58c796
date added to LUP
2019-04-08 10:11:24
date last changed
2024-04-01 22:55:46
@article{da911c83-89a5-4020-84d5-9cabcf58c796,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: We need to better understand how the use of different substances and psychiatric comorbidity influence premature death generally and cause-specific death by overdose, intoxication and somatic disorders in people with substance use disorders. Method: A cohort of 1405 patients consecutively admitted to a Swedish detoxification unit for substance use disorders in 1970-1995 was followed-up for 42 years. Substances were identified by toxicological analyses. Mortality figures were obtained from a national registry. Causes of death were diagnosed by forensic autopsy in 594 patients deceased by 2012. Predictions were calculated by competing risks analysis. Results: Forty-two per cent of the cohort died during follow-up; more men than women (46.3% vs 30.4%). The standardised mortality ratio (SMR) was calculated as the ratio of observed deaths in males and females in specific age groups in the cohort versus expected deaths in corresponding groups in the general population. SMR was 5.68 for men (CI 95%; 5.04-6.11) and 4.98 (CI 95%; 4.08-5.88) for women. The crude mortality rate (number of deaths divided by number of person observation years) was 2.28% for men and 1.87% for women. Opiates predicted increased risk of premature death while amphetamine and cannabis predicted lower risk. Comorbid psychiatric disorders were identified in 378 cases and personality disorders in 763 cases. Primary psychoses or mood/depression and anxiety disorders predicted a higher risk of premature mortality. Death by overdose was predicted by male gender, younger age at admission to substance treatment, opiate use, and comorbid depression and anxiety syndromes. Cannabis and amphetamine use predicted a lower risk of overdose. Death by intoxication was predicted by male gender, use of sedatives/hypnotics or alcohol/mixed substances, primary psychoses and depression/anxiety syndromes. Premature death by somatic disorder was predicted by male gender and alcohol/mixed abuse. Conclusion: Psychiatric comorbid disorders were important risk factors for premature drug-related death. Early identification of these factors may be life-saving in the treatment of patients with substance use disorders.</p>}},
  author       = {{Fridell, Mats and Bäckström, Martin and Hesse, Morten and Krantz, Peter and Perrin, Sean and Nyhlén, Anna}},
  issn         = {{1471-244X}},
  keywords     = {{42-year follow-up; Cohort study; Drug abuse; Personality disorder; Premature death; Psychiatric comorbidity; Somatic comorbidity}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{150--150}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{BMC Psychiatry}},
  title        = {{Prediction of psychiatric comorbidity on premature death in a cohort of patients with substance use disorders : A 42-year follow-up}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2098-3}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s12888-019-2098-3}},
  volume       = {{19}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}