Causes of death of patients with methamphetamine dependence: a record-linkage study

Methamphetamine use leads to increased likelihood of premature death. The authors investigated the causes of death and risk of mortality in a large cohort of patients with methamphetamine dependence.

A cohort of 1254 subjects with methamphetamine dependence, admitted to a psychiatric centre in Taiwan from January 1990 to December 2007, was retrospectively studied. Diagnostic and sociodemographic data for each subject were extracted from the medical records based on a chart review process. Mortality data were obtained by linking to the National Death Certification System and standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) were estimated. The risk and protective factors for all-cause deaths were explored by means of survival analyses.

During the study period, 130 patients died. Of them, 63.1% died unnatural deaths, while the remaining 36.9% died natural deaths. The 1 year cumulative rates for unnatural and natural deaths were 0.018 and 0.006, respectively, and the 5 year rates were 0.046 and 0.023, respectively. The cohort had excessive mortality (SMR = 6.02), and women had a higher SMR for unnatural deaths than men (26.19 vs. 9.82, P = 0.001). For all-cause deaths, comorbidity with other substance use disorders was associated with increased risk of death, despite that being married was associated with a reduced risk.

A substantial proportion of the deceased died natural deaths, but most died unnatural deaths. The findings show significant evidence to provide valuable insight into premature deaths among methamphetamine-dependent users. This information is valuable for development of prevention and intervention programs.