DRUG ADDICTION-RELATED MORTALITY IN THE P ARIS REGION

The aim of a cooperative study, carried out by the Paris Forensic Medi cine Institute and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM SC8) was to assess the number of drug addiction-rela ted deaths occurring in the Paris region in 1990. There were 253 death s including 92 in Paris and 161 in Paris suburbs. A large percentage o f these deaths were not recorded in the National death statistics regi stry (only 36% of all the deaths and only 24% of the Paris deaths had been registred). The overall drug addiction mortality in the Paris reg ion is 29.4 per million inhabitants and is highest among the 25-29 yea r age group. Rates decrease rapidly after 30 years of age and are extr emely low after 40. Mortality is highest in unmarried men and in the i nactive population with a wide variability according to site of reside nce. Rates are much higher in Paris than in the suburbs. For the 20-29 year population in Paris, drug addiction has an important impact on t he mortality figures for the general population, causing 12% of all de aths. It is the third cause of death after AIDS and suicide.