Table 1 Cohort studies that examined rates of all‐cause and AIDS mortality among drug users.
| Reference | Year | Site | n | Population studied | Follow up years | Lost | Person‐years | Drug | AIDS deaths | AIDS CMR* | Total deaths | Overall CMR* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | 1968 | United Kingdom | 1272 | Heroin addicts known to Home Office | 1.8 | − | 2291 | Heroin | NR | NR | 85 | 2.7 |
| 30 | 1968 | London, UK | 100 | Hospitalised male heroin addicts | 2.25 | – | 225 | Heroin | NR | NR | 13 | 5.7 |
| 42 | 1973 | New York, USA | 100 | Treatment, male | 20 | 17 | 1660 | Narcotics | NR | NR | 23 | 1.15 |
| 101 | 1979 | New York, USA | 1156 | Treatment (84% methadone) | 7 | 102 | 8092 | Heroin | NR | NR | 45 | 0.56 |
| 102 | 1981 | New Haven, USA | 91 | Treatment | 52 | – | 4732 | Morphine | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0.84 |
| 103 | 1981 | London, UK | 128 | Treatment (Rx heroin) | 10 | – | 1280 | Heroin | NR | NR | 19 | 1.48 |
| 39 | 1982 | 34 treatment agencies in USA | 3324 | Treatment | 4 | – | 11 710 | Opioids | NR | NR | 179 | 1.52 |
| 104 | 1984 | Gothenburg, Sweden | 618 | Drug using conscripts, rehab & psych patients, drug using welfare recipients | 10 | – | 5789 | Cannabis, solvents, LSD, stimulants (opioids rare) | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0.45 |
| 37 | 1984 | Copenhagen, Denmark | 300 | Treatment | 7 | 19 | 1967 | Morphine | NR | NR | 47 | 2.40 |
| 105 | 1986 | Edinburgh, UK | 184 | Heroin users attending a general practice | 4 | 4 | 720 | Heroin | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0.972 |
| 106 | 1987 | 18 treatment agencies in USA | 697 | Treatment | 6 | 142 | 3330 | Opioids | NR | NR | 52 | 1.56 |
| 107 | 1988 | Copenhagen, Denmark | 300 | First time entrants to treatment | 11 | 30 | 2970 | Opioids | NR | NR | 78 | 2.63 |
| 108 | 1988 | Lund, Sweden | 524 | Treatment: opioid, amphetamine, and both opioid and amphetamine | 10 | 0 | 5240 | Opioids, amphetamines | 0 | 0 | 62 | 1.18 |
| 109 | 1990 | Copenhagen, Denmark | 169 | Methadone | 8 | – | 1352 | Opioids | NR | NR | 39 | 2.88 |
| 76 | 1990 | Sweden | 368 | Methadone and untreated | 5–11 | – | 3283 | Heroin | 0 | 0 | 96 | 2.92 |
| 34 | 1991 | Stockholm, Sweden | 1630 | Drug related hospitalisation | 12 | 19 560 | 41% stimulants; 12% heroin; 16% polydrug; 31% other | NR | NR | 446 | 2.3 | |
| 74 | 1992 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 390 | Methadone | 2.2 | – | 810 | Opioids | 3 | 0.37 | 29 | 3.58 |
| 110 | 1992 | Wellington, New Zealand | 997 | Treatment | 9.1 | – | 9073 | Injecting opioid users | 0 | 0 | 67 | 0.74 |
| 52 | 1993 | Ireland | 45 | Pregnant on methadone | 6 | – | 270 | Opioids | NR | NR | 7 | 2.59 |
| 38 | 1993 | California, USA | 581 | Males in compulsory treatment | 24 | 35 | 13 064 | Narcotics | 0 | 0 | 161 | 1.23 |
| 53 | 1993 | Oslo, Norway | 1009 | HIV test centre clients | 3.67 | – | 3706 | IDU | 4 | 0.11 | 87 | 2.35 |
| 54 | 1994 | London, UK | 128 | Treatment | 22 | 7 | 2816 | Heroin | 0 | 0 | 41 | 1.53 |
| 55 | 1994 | Edinburgh, UK | 203 | GP | 10 | 17 | 2030 | IDU | 16 | 0.79 | 40 | 1.97 |
| 56 | 1994 | Rome, Italy | 2431 | Treatment | 3.2 | – | 7872 | IDU | 89 | 1.13 | 181 | 2.30 |
| 57 | 1994 | Milan, Italy | 2432 | Treatment | 6.7 | – | 16 415 | Methadone | 144 | 0.88 | 413 | 2.52 |
| 59 | 1995 | Italy | 4962 | Treatment | 3.88 | – | 21 130 | 150 | 0.71 | 332 | 1.57 | |
| 58 | 1995 | Portland, USA | 1769 | Not in treatment | 1.78 | – | 3149 | IDU | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1.05 |
| 60 | 1995 | Albuquerque, USA | 1013 | Treatment | 22 | 243 | 22 286 (16 940 excl lost) | Methadone | NR | NR | 348 | 1.56 (2.05) |
| 61 | 1995 | Stockholm, Sweden | 472 | HIV+ | 3.8 | – | 1793 | 7 | 0.39 | 69 | 3.85 | |
| 62 | 1996 | New York, USA | 858 | Drug and alcohol dependents on welfare | 8 | – | 6864 | Drugs and alcohol | 84 | 1.23 | 183 | 2.67 |
| 63 | 1996 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 632 | HIV: methadone and STD clinic patients | 4.4 | 18 | 2781 | 12 | 0.43 | 72 | 2.59 | |
| 64 | 1996 | Catalonia, Spain | 15 711 | Hospital ER and treatment | 2.8 | – | 43 717 | Opioids | 472 | 1.08 | 1315 | 3.01 |
| 65 | 1996 | Sydney, Australia | 296 | Methadone | 13 | 39 | 3484 | Heroin | 0 | 0 | 42 | 1.21 |
| 66 | 1997 | Stockholm, Sweden | 1494 | Hospitalised for drug dependence | 22 | – | 32 868 | 57% stimulants; 39% opioids | 521 | 1.59 | ||
| 67 | 1997 | Stockholm, Sweden | 1640 | Drug related hospitalisation | 8 | 0 | 13 120 | 14% heroin; 35% amphetamine; 23% polydrug | 18 | 0.14 | 214 | 1.63 |
| 43 | 1997 | Rome, Italy | 3955 | Treatment | 4 | 198 | 15 820 | IDU | 168 | 1.06 | 387 | 2.45 |
| 44 | 1998 | United Kingdom | 92 802 | “Drug addicts” notified to Home Office | 27 | – | 687 673 | 65% opioids | 5310 | 0.77 | ||
| 77 | 1998 | Philadelphia, USA | 507 | Methadone | 1 | 5 | 507 | Heroin | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2.56 |
| 45 | 1999 | Amsterdam, Netherlands; Baltimore, USA | 2809 | Treatment shelters and community agencies | 6–9 | – | 15 107 | IDU | 0 | 0 | 264 | 1.75 |
| 46 | 2000 | Catalonia, Spain | 135 | Treatment | 10.5 | – | 1418 | Heroin | 21 | 1.48 | 41 | 3.4 |
| 51 | 2001 | USA | 6570 | Methadone | 6.7 | – | 44 019 | Heroin | 330 | 0.75 | 1351 | 3.07 |
| 50 | 2001 | Rome, Italy | 11 432 | Methadone, other treatment | 18 | 39 | 80 787 | Heroin | 715 | 0.89 | 1734 | 2.15 |
| 49 | 2004 | Maryland, USA | 256 | Recent IDU | 10 | – | 2116 | IDU | 26 | 1.23 | 69 | 3.26 |
| 75 | 2005 | Barcelona, Spain | 5049 | Heroin users entering treatment | 8 | – | 23 048 | Heroin | 386 | 1.67 | 1005 | 4.36 |
| 47 | 2006 | Amsterdam | 899 | Low threshold methadone | 8.8 | 188 | 7106 | Heroin | 94 | 1.32 | 183 | 2.57 |
| 48 | 2006 | Valencia, Spain | 3247 | HIV testing centres | 8.6 | – | 26 772 | IDU | 281 | 1.04 | 585 | 2.18 |
CMR, crude mortality rate per 100 person years; NR, these studies did not report on AIDS deaths in their cohort.
–, No data.