Causes of hospital admission and mortality among 6683 people who use heroin: A cohort study comparing relative and absolute risks.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mortality in high-risk groups such as people who use illicit drugs is often expressed in relative terms such as standardised ratios. These measures are highest for diseases that are rare in the general population, such as hepatitis C, and may understate the importance of common long-term conditions.

Population

6683 people in community-based treatment for heroin dependence between 2006 and 2017 in London, England, linked to national hospital and mortality databases with 55,683 years of follow-up.

Method

Age- and sex-specific mortality and hospital admission rates in the general population of London were used to calculate the number of expected events. We compared standardised ratios (relative risk) to excess deaths and admissions (absolute risk) across ICD-1

SUBMITTER: Lewer D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6891224 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature