DRUG-RELATED DEATHS DURING THE 1980S - A COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF DRUG-ADDICT DEATHS EXAMINED AT THE INSTITUTES OF FORENSIC MEDICINE IN AARHUS,DENMARK AND OSLO, NORWAY
E. Kaa et B. Teige, DRUG-RELATED DEATHS DURING THE 1980S - A COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF DRUG-ADDICT DEATHS EXAMINED AT THE INSTITUTES OF FORENSIC MEDICINE IN AARHUS,DENMARK AND OSLO, NORWAY, International journal of legal medicine, 106(1), 1993, pp. 5-9
Cases of fatal poisoning among drug addicts examined at the institutes
of forensic medicine in Aarhus, Denmark (n = 238) and Oslo, Norway (n
= 263) are compared and discussed on the basis of the availability of
ilicit and medical drugs during the 1980s. The annual number of death
s among drug addicts in age groups over 30 years increased, but there
was no increase in the number of deaths among younger drug addicts in
either country. More than 80% of the drug addicts in both samples were
men. Heroin-/morphine-related deaths comprised three-quarters of the
Norwegian material compared with one-third of the Danish material. The
registered medical drugs propoxyphene, methadone and ketobemidone acc
ounted for half of the Danish cases but only a small number of the Nor
wegian cases. Amphetamine caused few deaths in either country. Alcohol
and benzodiazepines were present in more than one-third of the cases
in both countries, indicating frequent use of these substances.