Historique
Rapport
Drug-related deaths in Belgium, 1987-1997
Auteur(s) :
JOSSELS, G. ;
SARTOR, F.
Année
2004
Page(s) :
44 p.
Langue(s) :
Anglais
Éditeur(s) :
Brussels : Scientific Institute of Public Health
, IPH/EPI Reports n°2004-17
Refs biblio. :
10
Domaine :
Drogues illicites / Illicit drugs
Discipline :
EPI (Epidémiologie / Epidemiology)
Résumé :
The EMCDDA "Selection B" was applied to the general mortality register of Belgium of 1987 through 1997 to extract data on the 890 drug-related deaths. Univariate and multivariate methods (Poisson regression) were used to analyze these data. The results reveal a sudden rise in drug-related mortality in 1993. This rise could be partly due to an improvement of the death certification quality. Also, almost three out of four drugrelated deaths were men. In more than 90% of the cases where the substances involved were mentioned on the death certificate, opiates were involved. Among people aged 65 years or older, a lot of drug-related deaths were observed (mostly women) with "nondependent abuse of drugs – other, mixed or unspecified" as the cause of death. This made the suspicion rise that the corresponding "Selection B"-code might extract deaths that were not due to illicit substances. Also the difference between the regions was striking: the Walloon Region accounts for the most drug-related deaths. However, additional analyses nuanced this difference. The Poisson regression resulted in a model that tries to explain drug-related deaths and the relative risks show that those at the highest risk are men, people between 20 and 35 years old. In the Walloon and Brussels Capital Region, most deaths are expected. [Extract]
Affiliation :
Belgium