The prominence of smoking‐related mortality among individuals with alcohol‐ or drug‐use disorders. (23rd December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Callaghan, Russell C.; Gatley, Jodi M.; Sykes, Jenna; Taylor, Lawren
• Is Part Of: Drug and alcohol review. Volume 37:Number 1(2018)
• Page Start: 97
• Page End: 105
• Publication Date: 2016-12-23
• Subjects: alcohol -- illicit drug -- tobacco -- mortality -- smoking‐attributable mortality; Substance abuse -- Periodicals; Alcoholism -- Periodicals; Drinking of alcoholic beverages -- Periodicals; 616.86
• DOI: 10.1111/dar.12475
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-5236

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction and Aims: Even though individuals with substance‐use disorders have a high prevalence of tobacco smoking, surprisingly little is known about smoking‐related mortality in these populations. The current retrospective cohort study aims to address this gap. Design and Methods: The study sample included cohorts of individuals hospitalised in California between 1990 and 2005 with alcohol‐ ( n = 509 422), cocaine‐ ( n = 35 276), opioid‐ ( n = 53 172), marijuana‐ ( n = 15 995) or methamphetamine‐use ( n = 36 717) disorders. Death records were linked to inpatient data. Age‐, race‐ and sex‐adjusted standardised mortality ratios (SMR) were generated for 19 smoking‐related causes of death. Results: Smoking‐related conditions comprised 49% (79 188/163 191) of total deaths in the alcohol, 40% (1412/3570) in the cocaine, 39% (4285/11 091) in the opioid, 42% (554/1332) in the methamphetamine and 36% (1122/3095) in the marijuana cohorts. The SMRs for all smoking‐linked diseases were: alcohol, 3.57 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.55 to 3.58); cocaine, 2.40 (95% CI = 2.39 to 2.41); opioid, 4.26 (95% CI = 4.24 to 4.27); marijuana, 3.73 (95% CI = 3.71 to 3.74); and methamphetamine, 2.58 (95% CI = 2.57 to 2.59). The SMRs for almost all of the 19 cause‐specific smoking‐related outcomes were elevated across cohorts. Discussion and Conclusions: Given the current findings, addressing tobacco smoking among persons with substance‐use disorders should be a critical concern, especially given the heavy smoking‐related mortality burden and the currently limited attention devoted to smoking in these populations. [Callaghan RC, Gatley JM, Sykes J, Taylor L. The prominence of smoking‐related mortality among individuals with alcohol‐ or drug‐use disorders. Drug Alcohol Rev 2018;37:97–105]