Mortality rates among opioid addicts in a longitudinal study.

Mortality rates and survival curves were estimated for a sample of opioid addicts who had survived to an initial six-year follow-up interview. A total of 52 of the 555 addicts died between the six-year and 12-year follow-up interviews, which corresponds to an average of 13.8 deaths/1,000 person years. This rate is 6.9 times greater than the general population, adjusting for age. Approximately 29 per cent of the deaths were due to violence and 48 per cent to drugs.