Incidence & Predictors of Non-Fatal Drug Overdose After Release from Prison among People Who Inject Drugs in Queensland, Australia

The incidence of reported overdose was highest between 1 and 3 months post-release (37.8 per 100 person-years (PY) among PWID; 24.5/100 PY among all ex-prisoners). In adjusted analyses, the risk of post-release non-fatal overdose was higher for PWID who reported: being unemployed for >6 months before prison, having been removed from family as a child, at least weekly use of benzodiazepines and/or pharmaceutical opiates in the 3 months prior to prison, and ever receiving opioid substitution therapy (OST). Pre-release psychological distress and a lifetime history of mental disorder also predicted overdose, whereas risky alcohol use in the year before prison was protective.

PWID have a high risk of overdose following release from prison. Imprisonment is an opportunity to initiate targeted preventive interventions such as OST, overdose prevention training and peer-delivered naloxone for those with a high risk profile

Via: http://ht.ly/SiRWf 

By: Winter RJ1, Stoové M2, Degenhardt L3, Hellard ME2, Spelman T4, Jenkinson R5, McCarthy DR6, Kinner SA7.

• 1Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, Australia; School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Australia
• 2Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, Australia; School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Australia.
• 3National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Australia; Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Australia.
• 4Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, Australia; School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Australia; Victorian Infectious Diseases Service, Doherty Institute, Australia.
• 5Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, Australia; Australian Institute of Family Studies, Australia.
• 6Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, Australia.
• 7School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Australia; Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Australia; School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Australia.