Follow-up of 338 young drug addicts admitted to psychiatric hospitals in the period 1975 to 1984
Thomsen, P.H.
Ugeskrift for Laeger 150(19): 1166-1170
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0041-5782 PMID: 3376263 Document Number: 306847
Out of the patients, 13.0% were dead at the conclusion of the study, among these most died from narcotic overdosage, half of them as suicide and half as accidental poisoning. More than half of the dead drug addicts were heroine/morphine injection addicts. Furthermore, the mortality among male drug addicts was found to be significantly higher than among female drug addicts. For the surviving drug addicts it was found that 44.8% of the entire group were abstinent at the time of finishing the study. Half of these had become abstinent within three years after the last admission to a psychiatric hospital. Abstinence was most frequent among non-injecting mixed abusers and rarest among injection addicts with or without side-abuse. Female drug addicts had a better prognosis as regards becoming abstinent than male drug addicts. In about 1/4 of the patients somatic disease was found; half of the diseases were characterized as consequences of the drug abuse. About 1/3 received disablement pension due to failing health at an early age. More than 2/3 of the patients were unemployed. Thus, the study shows that in addition to the drug abuse, a series of social and psychiatric complications develop in the career of drug abusers. The most severe drug addicts have a miserable outcome, whereas more of the drug addicts with slight abuse succeed in getting out of their abuse. The entire group appears to be much more stressed than in the 1970's. Young drug addicts are very vulnerable with a high mortality, a high occurrence of illness, and a large number of social consequences, such as exclusion from the labor market, and often they receive disablement pension due to failing health at a very early age.