@article{ref1,
title="Does early drug use-related police contact predict premature mortality and morbidity: a population register-based study",
journal="Drug and alcohol review",
year="2021",
author="Ellonen, Noora and Pitkänen, Joonas and Miller, Bryan L. and Remes, Hanna and Aaltonen, Mikko and Oksanen, Atte and Martikainen, Pekka",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="INTRODUCTION: The aim was to analyse whether age at first drug offense predicts premature mortality and morbidity due to substance use and violence among adolescents and young adults. <br><br>METHODS: A prospective longitudinal register-linkage study based on a total population sample from Finland including individuals born between 1987 and 1992 and aged 15-25 years during follow-up in 2002-2017 (n = 386 435). Age-specific rates of deaths and health-care admissions (morbidity) during a 5-year follow-up were calculated from the first drug offense. Cox regression models were used to estimate differences in mortality and morbidity at ages 21-25. <br><br>RESULTS: Of all 15- to 20-year-olds, 1.4% (n = 5540) have had a police contact. The 5-year mortality rates (per 1000 person-years) among those with first drug offense at ages 15-16 was 2.92 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.56-6.18], and 5.26 (CI 4.00-7.07) and 5.05 (CI 4.06-6.38) at ages 17-18, and 19-20, respectively. The rates of morbidity varied between 61.20 (CI 52.43-71.76) and 87.51 (CI 82.11-93.33). Both mortality and morbidity rates were over 10 times higher than among the general population. In models adjusted for family background, first police contact at an early age (15-16) did not increase the risk of mortality at ages 21-25 compared with first police contact at ages 17-18 (hazard ratio 1.55, CI 0.77-3.09) or 19-20 (hazard ratio 1.52, CI 0.78-2.98). The results were similar for morbidity. <br><br>DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents with drug-related police contacts have high risk of mortality and morbidity due to substance use and violence regardless of age of first contact.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0959-5236",
doi="10.1111/dar.13416",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/dar.13416"
}