Demographics and use Patterns of a Danish Safe Injection Site: A 6-Year Retrospective Study

The illicit use of drugs is a pervasive societal issue. The use of illicit narcotic drugs, such as opioids and cocaine, may lead to drug use disorder, which substantially affects the daily life of the afflicted person and their surroundings. Among prophylactic measures for reducing harm of drug use, safe injection sites (SIS), which can reduce overdose deaths, have been implemented in Denmark. These sites hold registers of the users, the frequency of their visits to the site, the drugs they use, and the route of administration.

The data underlying this report were drawn from a publicly sanctioned SIS, located in the municipality of Aarhus, in the Central Denmark Region. Based on data on age, gender, route of administration, and frequency of use, a statistical analysis was conducted to discern patterns of use across demographic groups.

In total, the data capture period spanned 3,228 days. In total, 871 unique individuals were registered during the study period, comprising 730 males and 141 females. Analysis showed that, overwhelmingly the most prevalent drugs and roues of administration were opioids, cocaine, and methylphenidate, ingested by smoking or intravenously. Additional analysis showed distinct patterns of use and frequency thereof.

Based on the present study at a Danish SIS, the average user is between 30 and 50 years old. The most prevalent drugs used are heroin, cocaine, and methylphenidate. Most frequently, these are ingested by smoking or by intravenous injection. The results presented here indicate certain trajectories of use over time. These trajectories require further elaboration in similar cohorts. Furthermore, they point to a need to clarify broader public health implications of such use patterns among groups of users such as the one presented here.