Table 1 Characteristics of 200 patients who died during opioid agonist treatment, stratified by the cause of death
Variables | N | Total, N (%) | Drug-induced deaths | All other causes of death |
|---|---|---|---|---|
N = 84, n (%) | N = 116, n (%) | |||
Demographics | ||||
Male gender | 200 | 147 (74) | 59 (70) | 88 (76) |
Age, mean (SD) | 200 | 48.9 (8.4) | 46.9 (8.5) | 50.3 (8.2) |
Region East, | 200 | 89 (45) | 30 (36) | 59 (51) |
incl. Capital Oslo | ||||
Region South | 200 | 39 (20) | 16 (19) | 23 (41) |
Region West | 200 | 44 (22) | 26 (31) | 18 (16) |
Region Mid-Norway | 200 | 14 (7) | 7 (8) | 7 (6) |
Region North | 200 | 14 (7) | 5 (6) | 9 (8) |
Disability/retirement pensiona | 154 | 117 (76) | 45 (70) | 72 (80) |
Own homeb | 162 | 125 (77) | 54 (78) | 71 (76) |
OAT medication | ||||
Methadone | 199 | 109 (55) | 46 (55) | 63 (54) |
Buprenorphine | 199 | 82 (41) | 35 (42) | 47 (41) |
Other | 199 | 8 (4) | 2 (2) | 6 (5) |
OAT prescribed by GPs | 156 | 106 (68) | 42 (60) | 64 (74) |
Dose methadone (met) or buprenorphine (bup) | ||||
< 60 mg met or < 8 mg bup | 187 | 21 (11) | 10 (12) | 11 (10) |
60–120 mg met or 8–24 mg bup | 187 | 141 (75) | 62 (77) | 79 (75) |
> 120 mg met or > 24 mg bup | 187 | 25 (13) | 9 (11) | 16 (15) |
Total duration of OAT | ||||
< 4 years | 188 | 36 (19) | 14 (18) | 22 (20) |
4–8 years | 188 | 56 (30) | 30 (38) | 26 (24) |
8–12 years | 188 | 49 (26) | 18 (23) | 31 (29) |
12–17 years | 188 | 47 (25) | 18 (23) | 29 (27) |
Comorbidities | ||||
Charlson index score, | 200 | 2.0 (0–12) | 1.0 (0–9) | 3.0 (0–12) |
median (min–max) | ||||
Psychiatric admissionsc | 200 | 56 (28) | 26 (31) | 30 (26) |
BZD/Z-hypnoticsd | 177 | 76 (43) | 28 (38) | 48 (46) |
Psychotropic medicatione | 156 | 44 (28) | 12 (20) | 32 (33) |
Previous non-fatal overdosef | 200 | 59 (30) | 30 (36) | 29 (25) |