"Drug dependence" and death: survival analysis of the Baltimore ECA sample from 1981 to 1995.
OBJECTIVE
Illicit drug use and dependence often are associated with premature death, but available evidence comes mainly from clinical samples. The present paper examines drug-related mortality experience over 14 years in a United States community sample.


METHODS
Following probability sampling, 3,481 adult community household residents were recruited for the 1981 NIMH Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area survey. Follow-up occurred in 1993-1996.


METHODS
Survival analyses were used to estimate median age at death and relative risk of dying in relation to drug use and dependence as assessed in 1981 using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS).


RESULTS
Cases with DIS "drug dependence" were more likely to have died and to have a younger median age at death (p < .05), with and without statistical adjustment for confounding variables. Higher levels of drug involvement also were associated with increased age-adjusted mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
The evidence favors the hypothesis that DIS-elicited "drug dependence," as well as subthreshold drug use, help to account for premature death in this community sample.
Neumark
Y D
YD
Department of Mental Hygiene, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
Van Etten
M L
ML
Anthony
J C
JC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015142:Baltimore / Q000453:epidemiology; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000401:mortality*