The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #70890

Ernest Drucker, PhD, Department of Epidemiology & Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, 111 East 210th St., Bronx, NY 10467, 718-920-4766, drucker@aecom.yu.edu

Aims: To assess the drug-related overdose deaths in northeastern Pennsylvania. Methods: Death records for the years 1998 – 2002 from the county coroner’s offices in Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties, PA. Results: Overdose deaths in these counties rose 500% between 1998 - 2002. The median age of the victims was 38 and over 50% implicated opiates. Those aged 25 – 45 died at triple the rate of those under 25. The average age of the deaths was 37.5. While deaths rose for most age groups, the rate increased most rapidly among those aged 35 -44. More than half of the cases had a pharmacological profile consistent with long term opiate dependency. Very few overdoses were the result of heroin alone; most occurred in combination with other central nervous system depressants such as alcohol, tranquilizers, and pharmaceutical opiates. Recently, methadone bought on the streets has been found associated with an increasing percentage of the overdose deaths. In 2001 the two counties had an overdose death rate of about 50 per 100,000 population, versus 18 per 100,000 for the Bronx – where the overdose death rate has changed little in the past decade. Conclusions: Opiate-associated overdoses have increased, but they are preventable. One immediately available and proven measure to prevent overdoses is to increase the access to effective drug treatment for this group of older heroin users. Recent changes mandated by the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 and the FDA approval of buprenorphine may improve the likelihood of expanded access to drug treatment.

Learning Objectives:

• Appreciate the increase in fatal opiate overdoses in northeastern Pennsylvania;
• Recognize that the overdoses were concentrated among older, long-time opiate abusers; and
• Identify several approaches to reverse the trend.

Keywords: Drug Abuse, Death

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.