@article{ref1,
title="The role of substance use in non-drug related deaths: A cross-sectional study of drug treatment clients in the North West of England",
journal="Journal of substance use",
year="2007",
author="Beynon, C.M. and McVeigh, J.",
volume="12",
number="1",
pages="39-47",
abstract="Aims: (1) To identify all causes of death in a cohort of known problematic drug users; (2) to quantify the number considered drug-related in accordance with the UK Drug Strategy definition; (3) to identify the possible role of substance use in the residual causes of mortality. <br><br>DESIGN: Cross-sectional. Setting: North West of England, UK. Participants: All problematic drug users in contact with structured treatment services in 2003-2004. Measurements: All causes of mortality were identified from death certificates. Mann-Whitney U and chi-squared tests were used to explore differences in subgroups (alive, drug related deaths (DRD), non-DRD) by age and sex, respectively. <br><br>FINDINGS: Of 27,810 individuals, 103 (0.4%) were confirmed dead. Of the 102 for whom cause of death was available, 72 (70.6%) deaths were classified as non-drug related. In addition to individual causes such as cellulitis, these non-drug related deaths included 16 from infection (seven from pneumonia), seven from alcohol related liver disorders and seven suicides. Those dying from non-DRDs were significantly older than those dying of DRD (p=0.004). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: A considerable proportion of deaths classified as non-drug related are the likely result of substance use, particularly through infection.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1465-9891",
doi="10.1080/14659890600824329",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14659890600824329"
}