Drug-related deaths during the 1980s. A comparative study of drug addict deaths examined at the institutes of forensic medicine in Aarhus, Denmark and Oslo, Norway.

Cases of fatal poisoning among drug addicts examined at the institutes of forensic medicine in Aarhus, Denmark (n = 238) and Oslo, Norway (n = 263) are compared and discussed on the basis of the availability of illicit and medical drugs during the 1980s. The annual number of deaths among drug addicts in age groups over 30 years increased, but there was no increase in the number of deaths among younger drug addicts in either country. More than 80% of the drug addicts in both samples were men. Heroin-/morphine-related deaths comprised three-quarters of the Norwegian material compared with one-third of the Danish material. The registered medical drugs propoxyphene, methadone and ketobemidone accounted for half of the Danish cases but only a small number of the Norwegian cases. Amphetamine caused few deaths in either country. Alcohol and benzodiazepines were present in more than one-third of the cases in both countries, indicating frequent use of these substances.