CPDDBLOG reported last year on a research study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health at the University of Toronto establishing a link between methamphetamine abuse and Parkinson’s Disease. The same research group is
publishing a new epidemiological study in Drug and Alcohol Dependence that
documents an increased risk for death in methamphetamine abusers.
The study reviewed records of nearly 820,000 people in
California who during hospitalization were diagnosed as abusers or dependent upon alcohol, cannabis,
cocaine, methamphetamine, or opioids, within the 16-year period from January
1990 through December 2005. Death records also were reviewed during this period.
For subjects who died within the
study period, the average duration between index hospitalization and death ranged
from 7.4 – 10.7 years, with mean duration for methamphetamine abusers of 8.5
years (4122 deaths). The study did
not include polydrug abusers (who were diagnosed as abusing more than one substance).
Standardized mortality rates (SMRs), adjusted for age and
for racial and sex differences in substance abuse and death rates, were
calculated for each abused substance.
The SMR for methamphetamine abusers was 4.67, meaning that the risk for
death was nearly 5-fold that in the general population. This SMR exceeded SMRs for alcohol,
cocaine, and cannabis abusers, and only was exceeded by the SMR for opioid
abuse which was 5.71 (nearly 6-fold the death rate in the general population).
The authors noted that their study provides the first data from
a large US cohort documenting the SMR in methamphetamine abusers, and suggests
that additional steps should be taken to reduce the death rate in this group.
Graphic evidence of the ravages of methamphetamine abuse can
be found in the story of Shawn Bridges, a methamphetamine abuser who died in
2007 at age 35. Shawn recorded some of his struggles in hopes that others might not share his fate.
CPDDBLOG welcomes CPDD member’s thoughts on this issue.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Enter your full name and the current CPDD password above your comment to have your comment reviewed for posting by the moderator. If you do not provide your full name and the current CPDD member password for authentication, your comment will not be reviewed.