@article { author = {Babakhanian, Masoudeh and Zarghami, Mehran and Alipour, Abbas and Khosravi, Ardeshir and Hashemi-Nazari, Seyed Saeed and Saberi, Mehdi and Ghadirzadeh, Mohammad Reza}, title = {An Estimation of Drug-Related Deaths in Iran, Using the Capture-Recapture Method (2014-2016)}, journal = {Addiction and Health}, volume = {12}, number = {2}, pages = {87-97}, year = {2020}, publisher = {Kerman University of Medical Sciences}, issn = {2008-4633}, eissn = {2008-8469}, doi = {10.22122/ahj.v12i2.266}, abstract = {Background: The Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) and the Legal Medicine Organization(LMO) are the 2 death registration systems in Iran for registering drug-related deaths. The aim of the presentstudy was to assess the number of undercount and the overlap between the deaths registered by the 2 sources.Methods: In this descriptive study, according to the 10th revision of the International Classification ofDiseases (ICD-10), the registered data on drug-related deaths in the years 2014-2016, as recorded by theMOHME and the LMO, were collected and the number of deaths was estimated using 2-source capturerecapture method and Excel and SPSS software.Findings: The total number of drug-related deaths, as registered by the 2 sources, was 8639 during the3 years. A major part of the drug-related deaths (75% of the data) had been registered by the LMO and only25% of deaths had been registered by the MOHME. There was also a small overlap (7.7% of deaths) betweenthe data from the 2 sources. The final estimation from the capture-recapture model and analysis of sensitivityshowed that, during the 3 years, the total number of drug-related deaths was 14517 [95% confidence interval(CI):14498-14558]. Based on the complete overlap assumption and 50% of unidentified individuals in the2 sources, the number of deaths was estimated at 11341 and 12418, respectively. The largest number ofdrug-related deaths had occurred within the age range of 25-39 years and in men. Kermanshah, Hamedan,and Zanjan Provinces (Iran) had the largest number of cumulative incidences of drug-related deaths. Basedon the data provided by the MOHME, the most common cause of death was Methadone poisoning.Conclusion: There was a small overlap between the MOHME and the LMO in the registration of drug-relateddeaths. Failure to enter accurate and correct information has led to miscalculations of these deaths in Iran}, keywords = {Death,Substance-related disorders,Iran}, url = {https://ahj.kmu.ac.ir/article_90609.html}, eprint = {https://ahj.kmu.ac.ir/article_90609_dd51b28c4bdaeb62f17c34fefdfb794a.pdf} }