title: Typology of drug abuse deaths in Hamburg.
abstract: Based on a multidisciplinary approach (social-scientific questionnaire and forensic-pathological investigations), a typology of the drug-related fatalities in Hamburg during the period from July 1991 to June 1992 was achieved. A distinction between 3 types of addicts is proposed. Each group represents a different consumption pattern: (1) the opioid type, (2) polyvalent-drug users, and (3) primary alcoholics. With respect to these 3 types of abuse, some medical (concentration of alcohol and opioids in the blood) and social-scientific data (age at the beginning of the drug career, consumption of different drugs, distribution of age and sex, the quality and frequency of contact to facilities of the drug aid in Hamburg) are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Rechtsmedizin, Universität Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Püschel
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Teschke
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Castrup
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schulz-Schaeffer
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Heckmann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010338:Pathology, Clinical; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population