Characterizing Mortality from Substance Abuse in Iran: An Epidemiological Study during March 2014 to February 2015

Document Type : Original Article(s)

Authors

1 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

2 General Practitioner, Department of Addiction Studies, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

3 Forensic Medicine Specialist, Legal Medicine Research Center, Legal Medicine Organization, Tehran, Iran

4 Assistant Professor, Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Center AND Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background: Drug abuse is a severe and chronic disorder that leaves morbidity, disability and premature mortality in the society. The study of death due to substance abuse provides useful information for local, national and international administrators. Thus, by identifying the factors that have an impact on overdose-related mortality we can provide suitable intervention for vulnerable groups. The aim of this study was an investigation of mortality rate caused by consumption of narcotic and psychoactive substances in Iran.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, demographic and epidemiological data about all people whose cause of death was substance abuse in March 2014 to February 2015 were collected from Legal Medicine Organization (LMO). Finally, the information that was extracted from two checklists was analyzed by descriptive statistics.Findings: In this study, 2986 cases died from substances abuse were evaluated. Most deaths have befallen in unmarried young men with mean age of 36.9 ± 12.3, in the private locations. The mortality rate of drug abuse in the whole country was 38.4 per 1000000 population. The proportion of mortality was higher in Iranian nationality and in people who had a diploma and less education. History of overdose, suicide, hospitalization in a psychiatric hospital, staying in prison and substance abuse in the family were investigated in the study population.Conclusion: The present study revealed that mortality rate from substance abuse is more among unmarried young men aged 30-39 years with low education level and also in the self-employed group. We suggest that policies should be taken to prevent these people from accessing and using the drug.

Keywords

References

  1. Craig Green T. Substance abuse, HIV infection, medication adherence, and mortality among a cohort of aging us veterans [PhD Thesis]. New Haven, CT: Yale University; 2009.
  2. Popova S, Rehm J, Patra J. Illegal drug-attributable mortality and potential years of life lost in Canada 2002: Implications for prevention and policy. Contemp Drug Probl 2006; 33(3): 343-66.
  3. Hayden A, Hayashi K, Dong H, Milloy MJ, Kerr T, Montaner JS, et al. The impact of drug use patterns on mortality among polysubstance users in a Canadian setting: A prospective cohort study. BMC Public Health 2014; 14: 1153.
  4. Fischer B, Rehm J, Brissette S, Brochu S, Bruneau J, El-Guebaly N, et al. Illicit opioid use in Canada: Comparing social, health, and drug use characteristics of untreated users in five cities (OPICAN study). J Urban Health 2005; 82(2): 250-66.
  5. Rosen CS, Kuhn E, Greenbaum MA, Drescher KD. Substance abuse-related mortality among middle-aged male VA psychiatric patients. Psychiatr Serv 2008; 59(3): 290-6.
  6. Hser YI, Gelberg L, Hoffman V, Grella CE, McCarthy W, Anglin MD. Health conditions among aging narcotics addicts: Medical examination results. J Behav Med 2004; 27(6): 607-22.
  7. Poorolajal J, Haghtalab T, Farhadi M, Darvishi N. Substance use disorder and risk of suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and suicide death: A meta-analysis. J Public Health (Oxf) 2016; 38(3): e282-e291.
  8. Darvishi N, Farhadi M, Haghtalab T, Poorolajal J. Alcohol-related risk of suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and completed suicide: A meta-analysis. PLoS One 2015; 10(5): e0126870.
  9. Nazari Kangavari H, Shojaei A, Hashemi Nazari SS. Suicide mortality trends in four provinces of Iran with the highest mortality, from 2006-2016. J Res Health Sci 2017; 17(2): e00382.
  10. Furlan AD, Sandoval JA, Mailis-Gagnon A, Tunks E. Opioids for chronic noncancer pain: A meta-analysis of effectiveness and side effects. CMAJ 2006; 174(11): 1589-94.
  11. Coffin PO, Galea S, Ahern J, Leon AC, Vlahov D, Tardiff K. Opiates, cocaine and alcohol combinations in accidental drug overdose deaths in New York City, 1990-98. Addiction 2003; 98(6): 739-47.
  12. Razzaghi E, Rahimi A, Hosseini M, Chatterjee A. Rapid Situation Assessment (RSA) of drug abuse in Iran. Tehran, Iran: Prevention Department, State Welfare Organization, Ministry of Health, IR of Iran and United Nations International Drug Control Program; 1999. [In Persian].
  13. Powis B, Strang J, Griffiths P, Taylor C, Williamson S, Fountain J, et al. Self-reported overdose among injecting drug users in London: Extent and nature of the problem. Addiction 1999; 94(4): 471-8.
  14. Zarrabi H, Najafi K, Kafi M, Shirazi M. Substance use among students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences in Iran in 2005-2006. Acta Med Iran 2009; 47(6): 473-8.
  15. Day C, Nassirimanesh B, Shakeshaft A, Dolan K. Patterns of drug use among a sample of drug users and injecting drug users attending a General Practice in Iran. Harm Reduct J 2006; 3: 2.
  16. Dietze P, Cantwell K, Burgess S. Bystander resuscitation attempts at heroin overdose: Does it improve outcomes? Drug Alcohol Depend 2002; 67(2): 213-8.
  17. Ghoreishi MS, Shahbazi F, Mirtorabi SD, Ghadirzadeh MR, Hashemi Nazari SS. Epidemiological study of mortality rate from alcohol and illicit drug abuse in Iran. J Res Health Sci 2017; 17(4): e00395.
  18. McGregor C, Darke S, Ali R, Christie P. Experience of non-fatal overdose among heroin users in Adelaide, Australia: Circumstances and risk perceptions. Addiction 1998; 93(5): 701-11.
  19. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heroin overdose deaths Multnomah County, Oregon, 1993-1999. MMWR 2000; 49(28): 633-6.
  20. Hejazi A, Zare G, Zeid Abadinejad MB, Shakeri MT. Epidemiologic study of deaths related to opiate abuse in Khorasan legal medicine center from March 20, 2004 to March 20, 2006. Med J Mashad Univ Med Sci 2009; 52(2): 101-6. [In Persian].
  21. Jalilian F, Mirzaei Alavijeh M, Amoei MR, Zinat Motlagh F, Hatamzadeh N, Allahverdipour H. Prevalence and pattern of drug abuse among prisoners in Kermanshah city. J Health Promot Manag 2013; 1(2): 41-8. [In Persian].
  22. Christensen PB, Hammerby E, Smith E, Bird SM. Mortality among Danish drug users released from prison. Int J Prison Health 2006; 2(1): 13-9.
  23. Kardia SL, Rozek LS, Marks JL. Association of parental smoking history with nicotine dependence, smoking rate, and psychological cofactors in adult smokers. Addict Behav 2003; 28(8): 1447-52.
Addiction & Health
Volume 9, Issue 3 - Serial Number 3
24
October 2017
Pages 166-174

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics