NBHC Care Experience
August 29, 2018
A study led by ICES finds that between 2013 and 2016, the percentage of opioid-related deaths in Ontario that could be traced to prescriptions declined from 38% to 33%. Older individuals and women were more likely to have an active opioid prescription at time of death in 2016:
- Forty-six percent of those aged 45 to 64 had an active opioid prescription compared with only 12% among those aged 24 or younger; and
- Forty-six percent of women had an active opioid prescription at time of death compared to 26% of men.
ICES adds that among people not being prescribed opioids at their time of death, oxycodone, hydromorphone, methadone and morphine were frequently involved in the overdose, implying their deaths resulted from diverted prescription drugs.
Related News:
Les Canadiens de plus de 50 ans sont plus affectés par les opioïdes que le reste de la population - Radio-Canada