Via Yle Uutiset: Report: Drug overdose leading cause of death among men under 40 in Finland. Excerpt:
According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction EMCDDA, there were 194 cases of death due to drug overdose in 2016 – an increase of 28 cases on the previous year. The agency has based its findings on data provided by Statistics Finland.
The agency found that men are over-represented in the proportion of deaths caused by drug overdose, which is one of the leading causes of death among men under the age of forty in Finland.
In fact, fatal drug overdose cases rank alongside suicide, cancer and accidents as one of the most common causes of death in this age group.
The agency reported that more than two-thirds of drug overdose fatalities – some 77 percent – involve men.
By 2015, the average age of men who succumbed to a drug overdose was 38, compared to 51 for women.
Finland mirroring EU trends
Moreover the overall proportion of overdose deaths in Finland has increased steadily in the 20 years between 1996 and 2016. However the proportion of overdose cases relative to all deaths was highest in 2012.
In the twenty years between 1996 and 2016, the proportion of overdoses has increased slowly but surely. The highest proportion of overdoses so far was in 2012.
The rising trend of fatal drug overdoses in Finland reflects a similar situation in Europe. According to the drug use agency, in Europe, opioid users have a five to 10 times higher risk of death than their non drug using peers of the same age and sex.
The increased risk of mortality is mainly due to overdose, but there are other causes of death that can be indirectly linked to drug use. They include infections, accidents, violence and suicide.
The researchers note that poor health is also common among drug users, with chronic lung, liver and cardiovascular disease widespread.
However the agency has noted that the data behind the report should be interpreted with caution, given that there is systematic under-reporting from some countries. It also said that some registration procedures may also result in delayed reporting.
ODs reported in virtually every age group
At the European level, the UK and Germany account for roughly half of all overdoses in Europe. In the case of opioid-related deaths, heroin used in conjunction with other substances accounts for the largest proportion of deaths.
Here again, the agency found that the highest mortality rate in northern Europe is among men aged 35 – 39.
On average, roughly 20 people per one million inhabitants in the EU died of an overdose in 2015. The highest rates occur in Estonia, where there were 103 deaths by overdose in one million inhabitants.
The report recommended substitution therapy using methadone as a means of reducing deaths among individuals dependent on opioids.
