Musto D F, Ramos M R
N Engl J Med. 1981 Apr 30;304(18):1071-7. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198104303041804.
From 1918 to 1920, the police department of New Haven, Connecticut, operated a maintenance clinic for morphine addicts. The clinic registered 91 patrons by September 1920, when the facility was closed because of a change in federal narcotics-regulation policies. Death certificates recovered for 40 of the 91 registrants (44 per cent) show that the patrons mean age of death was 55.9 years. Although this age is 13 years younger than the mean age of death of the general population, it is comparable to the death rates for lower socioeconomic groups. The causes of death of the 40 patrons were rarely related to drugs; however, like nonaddicted persons in lower socioeconomic groups, the patrons faced higher risks of alcoholism, infectious diseases, suicide, and accidents. Thus, although many in the group appear to have freed themselves from drug addiction, they continued to face other hazards predisposing them to premature mortality.
1918年至1920年期间，康涅狄格州纽黑文市的警察局开办了一家针对吗啡成瘾者的戒毒所。到1920年9月该戒毒所关闭时，已登记了91名主顾，关闭原因是联邦麻醉品监管政策发生了变化。从91名登记者中的40人（44%）的死亡证明来看，这些主顾的平均死亡年龄为55.9岁。尽管这个年龄比普通人群的平均死亡年龄小13岁，但与社会经济地位较低群体的死亡率相当。这40名主顾的死因很少与毒品有关；然而，与社会经济地位较低群体中的非成瘾者一样，这些主顾面临着更高的酗酒、传染病、自杀和事故风险。因此，尽管该群体中的许多人似乎已经戒除了毒瘾，但他们仍然面临着其他导致过早死亡的风险因素。
