Epidemiological Study of Mortality from drug Abuse in Bodies Referred to Iranian Legal Medicine Organization in 2013-2014

• Published in: Iranian journal of epidemiology Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 9 - 18
• Main Authors: F Shahbazi, SD Mirtorabi, MR Ghadirzadeh, SMS Ghoreishi, SS Hashemi Nazari
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Persian
• Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 01.06.2018
• Subjects: abuse; addiction; drug and mortality
• ISSN: 1735-7489

Background and Objectives: Drug abuse is one of the medical, social, economic and cultural problems in the present era that increases the morbidity, mortality, and disability among addicts. Iran, due to its adjacency to major centers of opiate drugs production, has a severe and critical condition. Therefore, epidemiological studies are essential for comprehensive management of drug abuse disorders.        Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, demographic and epidemiological data of all people whose cause of death was drug abuse in 2013-14 (1392 Hijri) were extracted by two checklists. Data were then analyzed with SPSS software. Results: A total of 2957 deaths occurred during the study period. Most deaths occurred in unmarried young males with a low income and education level. The mean age of the subjects was 36.6  12.81 years. The mortality rate from opiate and psychoactive abuse in the whole country was 53.28 in 1000000 population. The most commonly used drugs in the study population were opium, crystal, and heroin in a descending order. Hamedan, Lorestan, and Zanjan provinces with a mortality rate of 150, 101, and 80.06 per 1,000,000 people had the highest mortality due to drug abuse. Conclusion: Training programs and harm reduction approaches such as methadone treatment and naloxone distribution programs should be designed in high-risk groups to reduce mortality associated with drug abuse.