Mortality during and after specialist alcohol and other drug treatment: Variation in rates according to principal drug of concern and treatment modality.

INTRODUCTION

For people accessing treatment for problems with drugs other than opioids, little is known about the relationship between treatment and mortality risk, nor how mortality risk varies across treatment modalities. We addressed these evidence gaps by determining mortality rates during and after treatment for people accessing a range of treatment modalities for several drugs of concern.

METHODS

We conducted a cohort study using linked data on publicly funded specialist alcohol or other drug treatment service use and mortality for people receiving treatment in New South Wales between January 2012 and December 2018. We calculated and compared during-treatment and post-treatment crude mortality rates and age- and sex-standardised mortality rates, separately for each principal drug of concern and modality.

RESULTS

Over the study period, 45,026 people accessed treatment for problems with alcohol, 26,407 for amphetamine-type stimulants, 23,047 for cannabinoids and 21,556 for opioids. People treated for alcohol or opioid problems had higher crude mortality rates (1.48, 1.91, 1.09 per 100 person years, respectively) than those with problems with amphetamine-type stimulants or cannabinoids (0.46, 0.30 per 100 person years, respectively). Mortality rates differed according to treatment status and modality only among people with alcohol or opioid problems.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The observed variation in mortality rates indicates there is scope to reduce mortality among people accessing treatment with alcohol or opioid problems. Future research on mortality among people accessing drug and alcohol treatment should account for the variation in mortality by drug of concern and treatment modality.