Table 1 Characteristics of drug-related deaths reported for Liverpool by drug abuse/dependent status (1st January 2004 to 30th June 2005)
Variable | Drug abuser/dependent1 | Not a drug abuser/dependent | Unknown drug abuser/dependent | Total | P for the comparison between 'drug abuser/dependent' and 'not a drug user/dependent' |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n | 38 | 21 | 11 | 70 | |
Male n (%) | 24 (63.2) | 13 (61.9) | 8 (72.7) | 45 (64.3) | 0.924 |
Resident in Liverpool n (%) | 27 (71.1) | 18 (85.7) | 10 (90.9) | 55 (78.6) | 0.338 |
Drugs known to have been detected in toxicological investigations n (%)2 | |||||
Heroin/morphine | 22 (57.9) | 3 (14.3) | 2 (18.2) | 27 (38.6) | 0.001 |
Methadone | 12 (31.6) | 1 (4.8) | 0 | 13 (18.6) | 0.022 |
Alcohol | 15 (39.5) | 11 (52.4) | 5 (45.5) | 31 (44.3) | 0.339 |
Cocaine | 16 (42.1) | 0 | 3 (27.3) | 19 (27.1) | <0.001 |
Known history of alcohol abuse n (%) | 10 (26.3) | 7 (33.3) | 5 (45.5) | 22 (31.4) | 0.569 |
Known drug treatment contact in 2003/04, 2004/05 or 2005/06 n (%) | 12 (31.6) | 0 | 0 | 12 (17.1) | 0.005 |
Known drug related criminal justice contact in 2003/04, 2004/05 or 2005/06 n (%)3 | 7 (18.4) | 0 | 0 | 7 (10.0) | 0.043 |
Death from drug(s) toxicity n (%)4 | 19 (50.0) | 19 (90.5) | 7 (63.6) | 45 (64.3) | 0.002 |
Age at death, years median (inter quartile range) | 38.23 (32.39 – 44.07) | 53.59 (44.13 – 65.81) | 41.15 (29.99 – 52.21) | 42.36 (33.28 – 51.35) | <0.001 |