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All-cause mortality rate of people in treatment for substance use disorders in Belgium: A register-based cohort study.
- Source :
- Journal of Substance Use; 2019, Vol. 24 Issue 5, p481-486, 6p, 4 Charts
- Publication Year :
- 2019
-
Abstract
- Background: The objective of the current paper is to estimate the all-cause mortality rates for people who have been in treatment for substance use disorders (SUD) in Belgium. Methods: Data from the national register of people who were in treatment for SUD between 2011–2014 was linked to mortality data gathered through the seven Belgian health insurance agencies (N = 30,905). Four comparators were matched on age, sex, and place of residence to each subject in treatment for SUD (N = 123,497). A Cox proportional hazards model was utilized to test the risk of all-cause mortality for being in treatment for SUD or not. A second Cox proportional hazards model tested the risk of all-cause mortality for several drug-related covariates for people in treatment for SUD. Results: The overall mortality rate for people in treatment reached 15.59 per 1,000 person-years. Being in treatment for illicit substance use disorders was associated with a nearly 11-fold increase in all-cause mortality, whereas being in treatment for licit drugs raised the likelihood of a premature death sevenfold. Conclusions: The results have implications for interventions seeking to reduce the elevated SUD-related mortality, and they highlight the need to intensify harm reduction strategies for people with SUD to significantly reduce drug-related mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 14659891
- Volume :
- 24
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Substance Use
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 137508023
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1080/14659891.2019.1604841