Table 1.
Characteristics and comorbidities of people with methamphetamine as cause of or contributing factor to death in Los Angeles County, California.
| Total | 2012 | 2021 (Jan-Jun) | Mann-Kendall test of trend | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | n | % | n | % | p-Value | |
| Sex | |||||||
| Male | 4727 | 77 % | 192 | 81 % | 515 | 77 % | |
| Female | 1389 | 23 % | 45 | 19 % | 155 | 23 % | 0.47 |
| Unknown | 9 | 0 % | 1 | 0 % | 1 | 0 % | N/A |
| Age group | |||||||
| >1 year | 218 | 4 % | 15 | 6 % | 13 | 2 % | 1.00 |
| 1–10 years | 0 | 0 % | 0 | 0 % | 0 | 0 % | N/A |
| 11–19 years | 21 | 0 % | 1 | 0 % | 2 | 0 % | 0.17 |
| 20–29 years | 751 | 12 % | 22 | 9 % | 101 | 15 % | <0.01 |
| 30–39 years | 1228 | 20 % | 41 | 17 % | 156 | 23 % | <0.01 |
| 40–49 years | 1508 | 25 % | 75 | 32 % | 138 | 21 % | <0.01 |
| 50–59 years | 1614 | 26 % | 63 | 26 % | 176 | 26 % | <0.01 |
| 60–69 years | 690 | 11 % | 19 | 8 % | 78 | 12 % | <0.001 |
| 70–92 years | 73 | 1 % | 2 | 1 % | 7 | 1 % | 0.02 |
| Race/ethnicity | |||||||
| American Indian or Alaska native | 24 | 0.4 % | 2 | 1 % | 2 | 0.3 % | N/A |
| Asian or Pacific Islander | 219 | 4 % | 12 | 5 % | 14 | 2 % | 0.02 |
| Black | 844 | 14 % | 8 | 3 % | 111 | 17 % | <0.01 |
| White | 2778 | 45 % | 125 | 53 % | 278 | 41 % | 0.03 |
| Hispanic or Latin American | 2142 | 35 % | 87 | 37 % | 257 | 38 % | 0.11 |
| Other race or ethnicity | 25 | 0.4 % | 1 | 0.4 % | 7 | 1 % | N/A |
| Unknown | 93 | 2 % | 3 | 1 % | 2 | 0.3 % | N/A |
| Homeless/indigent | 1753 | 29 % | 32 | 13 % | 237 | 35 % | <0.001 |
| Opioids | 2021 | 33 % | 37 | 16 % | 363 | 54 % | <0.001 |
| Heroin | 894 | 15 % | 25 | 11 % | 69 | 10 % | 0.21 |
| Fentanyl | 1035 | 17 % | 0 | 0 % | 311 | 46 % | <0.001 |
| Prescription opioids | 295 | 5 % | 12 | 5 % | 20 | 3 % | 0.21 |
| Cocaine | 442 | 7 % | 11 | 5 % | 56 | 8 % | <0.001 |
| Alcohol | 502 | 8 % | 10 | 4 % | 63 | 9 % | 0.92 |
| Other drugs or medications | 393 | 6 % | 6 | 3 % | 72 | 11 % | <0.001 |
| External causes (suicide, homicide, drowning, accident) | 372 | 6 % | 22 | 9 % | 18 | 3 % | 0.12 |
| Obesity | 214 | 3 % | 9 | 4 % | 21 | 3 % | 0.18 |
| Systems involved | |||||||
| Cardiovascular | 2331 | 38 % | 113 | 47 % | 172 | 26 % | 0.05 |
| Endocrine and metabolic | 455 | 7 % | 17 | 7 % | 43 | 6 % | 1.00 |
| Ear, nose, throat | 10 | 0.2 % | 0 | 0 % | 3 | 0 % | N/A |
| Eye | 0 | 0 % | 0 | 0 % | 0 | 0 % | N/A |
| Gastrointestinal | 419 | 7 % | 17 | 7 % | 23 | 3 % | 0.03 |
| Genito-urinary-breast | 113 | 2 % | 3 | 1 % | 9 | 1 % | N/A |
| Haematological | 72 | 1 % | 4 | 2 % | 2 | 0 % | N/A |
| Inflammatory or infectious | 335 | 5 % | 9 | 4 % | 35 | 5 % | 0.60 |
| Integumentary | 40 | 1 % | 1 | 0 % | 3 | 0 % | N/A |
| Musculoskeletal | 23 | 0.4 % | 0 | 0 % | 2 | 0 % | N/A |
| Neoplasms | 61 | 1 % | 1 | 0 % | 3 | 0 % | N/A |
| Neurological | 390 | 6 % | 15 | 6 % | 29 | 4 % | 0.18 |
| Psychiatric | 53 | 1 % | 1 | 0 % | 1 | 0 % | N/A |
| Respiratory | 495 | 8 % | 16 | 7 % | 40 | 6 % | 1.00 |
| Number of substances | |||||||
| Methamphetamine only | 3513 | 57 % | 184 | 77 % | 252 | 38 % | <0.001 |
| One other drug | 1816 | 30 % | 44 | 18 % | 274 | 41 % | <0.001 |
| Two or more other drugs | 796 | 13 % | 10 | 4 % | 145 | 22 % | <0.001 |
| Number of organ systems involved | |||||||
| None (drugs only) | 3047 | 50 % | 102 | 43 % | 435 | 65 % | <0.01 |
| One organ system listed | 1857 | 30 % | 88 | 37 % | 151 | 23 % | <0.01 |
| Two or more organ systems listed | 1221 | 20 % | 48 | 20 % | 85 | 13 % | 0.05 |
| Polysubstance and at least one organ system | 990 | 16 % | 24 | 10 % | 99 | 15 % | |
| Total | 6125 | 100 % | 238 | 100 % | 671 | 100 % | |
1.
Includes morphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, methadone, tramadol, codeine, buprenorphine, oxymorphone, hydromorphone, meperidine.