[Mortality among Norwegian addicts after admission to different types of institutions. A 10-year follow-up study 1985-94].

Ten years after enrollment in six different treatment and rehabilitation facilities in 1984-85, 482 drug addicts (158 women) were followed-up by means of official death records. 97 drug addicts (20%) had died, i.e. an incidence rate of 2.3 per 100 observation years. The incidence rate among those enrolled in psychiatry-oriented institutions was 2.8 for men and 2.0 for women. Among those enrolled in rehabilitation-oriented institutions the corresponding incidence rate was 2.0 and 0.6. The ratio between the incidence rates for the two types of institutions was 1.6 (95% CI 1.0-2.6). Excluding those who were 21 to 25 years of age in 1984-85, the death rate was significantly higher among the drug addicts in psychiatry-oriented institutions than among the addicts at institutions focusing on rehabilitation(relative risk 2.1, 95% CI 1.1-4.1).