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Background and Aims: Poor substance use‐related health outcomes after release from prison are common. Identifying people at greatest risk of substance use and related harms post‐release would help to target support at those most in need. The Alcohol Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) is a validated substance use screener, but its utility in predicting substance‐related hospitalisation post‐release is unestablished. We measured whether screening for moderate/high‐risk substance use on the ASSIST was associated with increased risk of substance‐related hospitalisation. Design: A prospective cohort study. Setting: Prisons in Queensland and Western Australia. Participants: Participants were incarcerated and within 6 weeks of expected release when recruited. A total of 2585 participants were followed up for a median of 873 days. Measurements: Baseline survey data were combined with linked unit record administrative hospital data. We used the ASSIST to assess participants for moderate/high‐risk cannabis, methamphetamine and heroin use in the 3 months prior to incarceration. We used International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes to identify substance‐related hospitalisations during follow‐up. We compared rates of substance‐related hospitalisation between those classified as low/no‐risk and moderate/high‐risk on the ASSIST for each substance. We estimated adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) by ASSIST risk group for each substance using Weibull regression survival analysis allowing for multiple failures. Findings During follow‐up, 158 (6%) participants had cannabis‐related, 178 (7%) had opioid‐related and 266 (10%) had methamphetamine‐related hospitalisation. The hazard rates of substance‐related hospitalisation after prison were significantly higher among those who screened moderate/high‐risk compared with those screening low risk on the ASSIST for cannabis (aHR 2.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.74, 3.24), methamphetamine (aHR 2.23, 95%CI 1.75, 2.84) and heroin (aHR 5.79, 95%CI 4.41, 7.60). Conclusions: Incarcerated people with an Alcohol Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) screening of moderate/high‐risk substance use appear to have a significantly higher risk of post‐release substance‐related hospitalisation than those with low risk. Administering the ASSIST during incarceration may inform who has the greatest need for substance use treatment and harm reduction services in prison and after release from prison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To estimate the treated prevalence of mental illness, substance use disorder (SUD) and dual diagnosis and the association between dual diagnosis and fatal and non‐fatal overdose among residents of British Columbia (BC), Canada. Design A retrospective cohort study using linked health, income assistance, corrections and death records. Setting: British Columbia (BC), Canada. Participants: A total of 921 346 BC residents (455 549 males and 465 797 females) aged 10 years and older. Measurements Hospital and primary‐care administrative data were used to identify a history of mental illness only, SUD only, dual diagnosis or no history of SUD or mental illness (2010–14) and overdoses resulting in medical care (2015–17). We calculated crude incidence rates of non‐fatal and fatal overdose by dual diagnosis history. Andersen–Gill and competing risks regression were used to examine the association between dual diagnosis and non‐fatal and fatal overdose, respectively, adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities, incarceration history, social assistance, history of prescription opioid and benzodiazepine dispensing and region of residence. Findings Of the 921 346 people in the cohort, 176 780 (19.2%), 6147 (0.7%) and 15 269 (1.7%) had a history of mental illness only, SUD only and dual diagnosis, respectively; 4696 (0.5%) people experienced 688 fatal and 6938 non‐fatal overdoses. In multivariable analyses, mental illness only, SUD only and dual diagnosis were associated with increased rate of non‐fatal [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.6–2.1; HR = 9.0, 95% CI = 7.0–11.5, HR = 8.7, 95% CI = 6.9–10.9, respectively] and fatal overdose (HR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.3–2.0, HR = 4.3, 95% CI = 2.8–6.5, HR = 4.1, 95% CI = 2.8–6.0, respectively) compared with no history. Conclusions: In a large sample of residents of British Columbia (Canada), approximately one in five people had sought care for a substance use disorder or mental illness in the past 5 years. The rate of overdose was elevated in people with a mental illness alone, higher again in people with a substance use disorder alone and highest in people with a dual diagnosis. The adjusted hazard rates were similar for people with substance use disorder only and people with a dual diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Reported associations between previous incarceration and the risk of overdose‐related death are substantially heterogeneous, and previous studies are limited by an inability to control for confounding factors in risk assessment. This study investigated the associations of overdose‐related death with previous incarceration and the number or cumulative duration of previous incarcerations, and individual or neighborhood characteristics that may potentially modify the associations. Design and setting: A cohort study using a 20% random sample of residents in British Columbia, Canada. Participants: A total of 765 690 people aged 23 years or older at baseline as of 1 January 2015. Mean age was 50 years; 49% were males. Measurements Previous incarcerations that occurred during the 5‐year exposure period (January 2010 to December 2014) were identified using provincial incarceration records. Overdose‐related deaths that occurred during the 3‐year follow‐up period (January 2015 to December 2017) were identified using linked administrative health data. Baseline individual and neighborhood characteristics were retrieved from the provincial health insurance data. Findings In the cohort, 5743 people had an incarceration history during the exposure period, and 634 people died from drug overdose during the follow‐up period. The mortality rate was 897 and 22 per 100 000 person‐years for people who did and did not have an incarceration history, respectively. After adjusting for baseline individual and neighborhood characteristics (without any interaction term), people who had an incarceration history were 4.04 times (95% confidence interval 3.23–5.06) more likely to die from drug overdose compared with people without an incarceration history. The association was stronger for females, people without diagnoses of substance use disorder and people without dispensation of opioids for pain or benzodiazepines (P < 0.001 for each interaction term). There was no discernible linear trend between the number or cumulative duration of previous incarcerations and the risk of overdose‐related death. Conclusions: Previous incarceration appears to be a major risk factor for overdose‐related death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aims: To estimate the incidence and identify risk factors for mortality in adults released from prisons in the state of Queensland, Australia. Design: Prospective cohort study, linking baseline survey data with a national death register. Setting: Selected prisons within Queensland, Australia. Participants: Adults (n = 1320) recruited in Queensland prisons within 6 weeks of expected release, between August 2008 and July 2010, followed for up to 4.7 years in the community. Measurements: Participants completed a comprehensive baseline survey covering psychosocial circumstances, physical and mental health, substance use and health risk behaviours. Clinical data were abstracted from prison medical records and obtained through probabilistic linkage with state‐based, community health records. Dates of prison release and reincarceration were obtained from correctional records. Deaths were identified through probabilistic linkage with the National Death Index. Adjusted hazard ratios (AHR) were calculated using proportional hazards regression models. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated using the population of Queensland as the reference. General population data were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Findings: The rate of mortality in the cohort was higher than in the age‐ and sex‐matched general population of Queensland for all causes [SMR = 4.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.9–5.4] and drug‐related causes (SMR = 32, 95% CI = 19–55). In a multivariable model, adjusting for age, sex and Indigenous status, factors associated with increased mortality risk included expecting to have average or better funds available on release (AHR = 2.9, 99% CI = 1.2–7.1), poor mental health (AHR = 2.6, 99% CI = 1.1–6.1) and self‐reported life‐time history of overdose (AHR = 2.5, 99% CI = 1.04–6.2). Conclusions: People released from prison in Queensland, Australia are at increased risk of death, due particularly to drug‐related causes. Those at greatest risk of death are characterized by poor physical and mental health and a history of risky substance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]