Home > The changing role of substances: trends, characteristics of individuals and prior healthcare utilization among individuals with accidental substance-related toxicity deaths in Ontario Canada.

Ledlie, Shaleesa and Holton, Alice and Leece, Pamela and Hamzat, Bisola and Yang, Joanna and Kolla, Gillian and Bozinoff, Nikki and Boyd, Rob and Franklyn, Mike and Smoke, Ashley and Newcombe, Paul and Gomes, Tara (2025) The changing role of substances: trends, characteristics of individuals and prior healthcare utilization among individuals with accidental substance-related toxicity deaths in Ontario Canada. PLoS ONE, 20, (5), e0324732. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0324732.

External website: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.13...

OBJECTIVE To investigate trends and the circumstances surrounding fatal substance-related toxicities directly attributed to alcohol, stimulants, benzodiazepines or opioids and combinations of substances in Ontario, Canada.

METHODS We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study of all accidental substance-related toxicity deaths in Ontario, Canada from January 1, 2018 to June 30, 2022. We reported monthly rates of substance-related toxicity deaths and investigated the combination of substances most commonly involved in deaths. Demographic characteristics, location of incident, and prior healthcare encounters for non-fatal toxicities and substance use disorders were examined.

RESULTS Overall, 10,022 accidental substance-related toxicity deaths occurred, with the annual number of deaths nearly doubling between the first and last 12 months of the study period (N = 1,570-2,702). Opioids were directly involved in the majority of deaths (84.1%; N = 8,431), followed by stimulants (60.9%; N = 6,108), alcohol (13.4%; N = 1,346) and benzodiazepines (7.8%; N = 782). In total, 56.9% (N = 5,698) of deaths involved combinations of substances. Approximately one-fifth of individuals were treated in a hospital setting for a substance-related toxicity in the past year, with the majority being opioid-related (17.4%; N = 1,748). Finally, 60.9% (N = 6,098) of people had a substance use disorder diagnosis at time of death.

CONCLUSIONS Our study shows not only the enormous loss of life from substance-related toxicities but also the growing importance of combinations of substances in these deaths. A large proportion of people had previously interacted within an hospital setting for prior substance-related toxicity events or related to a substance use disorder, representing important missed intervention points in providing appropriate care.


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