A comparison of accidental and intentional fatal drug overdoses within the drug death population in Scotland: a case of comortality?

Abstract

This article considers the social and clinical life circumstances of individuals who succumbed to drug deaths in Scotland in 2003. Specifically, comparisons are made between those who died of accidental and intentional illicit drug overdoses. A cross-linkage process allowed for a comparison of patient notes obtained from general practice, drug treatment services, the Scottish Prison service, the Scottish Criminal Records Office, acute services, non-statutory services and the Procurator Fiscal. Individuals who intentionally overdosed were older, more likely to be females and in a relationship, more likely to be living in their own homes in areas of lower deprivation, to have children and to have sought medical treatment for a psychological condition. They were less likely to have a criminal record or a history of incarceration or substance misuse problems. These findings demonstrate the diversity of the drug death population and may have implications for future prevention policies aimed at individual sub-populations.

Keywords:

• drug death
• comortality
• overdose
• suicide

Acknowledgements

This data for this article was obtained from a Scottish Executive funded project; ‘National Investigation into Drug Related Deaths in Scotland 2003’. The authors thank Hope Stewart, Tina Bool and Keith Taylor; Lucy Gorham and Rod Wallace who collected and entered the data, and in particular Sarah McGarrol and Andy Rome for ongoing data collection and analysis. Other investigators involved in the original study include Deborah Zador, Brian Kidd, Sharon Hutchinson, Matthew Hickman, Tom Fahey and Avril Taylor.