Legal System Involvement and Opioid-Related Overdose Mortality in U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Patients.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Opioid-related overdose risks are elevated after incarceration. The rates of opioid-related overdose mortality have risen in recent years, including among Veterans Health Administration patients. To inform Veteran overdose prevention, this study evaluates whether opioid-related overdose risks differ for Veterans Health Administration patients with versus those without indicators of legal system involvement.

Methods

This retrospective national cohort study, conducted in 2019-2021, used Veterans Health Administration electronic health records and death certificate data from the Department of Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense Mortality Data Repository to examine opioid-related overdose mortality from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2017. The cohort includ

SUBMITTER: Finlay AK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8849578 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature