Citation

Kidd B, Matthews C. Addiction 2017; 112(8): 1419-1420.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/add.13857

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Release from prison is associated with an increased death rate, with many of these deaths drug-related. Risk of death is elevated specifically in opiate-dependent prisoners, particularly in the immediate post-release period. Marsden et al. looked to determine if opioid substitution treatment (OST) status at prison release impacted upon the subsequent risk of death. For those 'exposed' to OST, there was a reduced risk of overdose death during the first 4 weeks after release. However, no 'protective' effect was seen thereafter. Their findings were neither attenuated following adjustment for risk factors present prior to imprisonment, nor did the post-release uptake of community-based OST affect the results.

Although a loss of tolerance to opiates during incarceration probably leads to an increased risk of overdose following release, these findings are at odds with other research. Previous epidemiological studies have argued that OST availability in prison is either not protective post-release...

Language: en

Keywords

risk factors; mortality; Buprenorphine; methadone; opioid substitution therapy; prison