Table 5.
Adjusted drug involvement by age group and change vs. reported proportiona
| Drug category | % [95 % ci] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16–59 year olds | ≥60 year olds | |||
| Adjustedb | % Differencec | Adjustedb | % Differencec | |
| 1999 | ||||
| Narcotics | 81.1 [80.2–82.0] | 31.4 [29.9–32.8] | 36.5 [32.3–40.7] | 39.5 [23.3–55.7] |
| Opioid analgesics | 32.0 [30.8–33.2] | 30.4 [25.6–35.1] | 23.4 [19.5–27.3] | 42.0 [18.1–65.9] |
| Other narcotics | 61.8 [60.7–62.9] | 37.3 [34.8–39.8] | 16.6 [13.6–19.6] | 40.7 [15.2–66.2] |
| Sedatives | 15.2 [14.3–16.2] | 60.8 [50.5–71.2] | 20.8 [17.0–24.6] | 39.2 [13.8–64.6] |
| Psychotropics | 21.3 [20.3–22.4] | 44.4 [37.2–51.7] | 20.3 [16.5–24.1] | 52.8 [24.1–81.5] |
| Other specified | 6.7 [6.1–7.4] | 38.3 [24.8–51.9] | 32.3 [28.2–36.4] | 3.8 [−9.2–16.9] |
| Unspecified | 35.4 [34.3–36.6] | −30.5 [−28.2 – −32.7] | 36.7 [32.5–40.8] | −15.9 [−6.4 – −25.3] |
| >1 Major drug classd | 29.6 [28.4–30.8] | 58.2 [51.8–64.7] | 18.3 [14.6–22.1] | 63.5 [30.0–97.0] |
| 2012 | ||||
| Narcotics | 83.4 [82.9–84.0] | 34.2 [33.4–35.0] | 64.0 [62.1–66.0] | 35.2 [31.1–39.4] |
| Opioid analgesics | 54.9 [54.2–55.6] | 41.0 [39.2–42.9] | 48.9 [46.7–51.1] | 39.2 [33.1–45.3] |
| Other narcotics | 40.6 [39.9–41.3] | 38.2 [35.9–40.5] | 20.2 [18.6–21.8] | 34.4 [23.8–45.0] |
| Sedatives | 30.2 [29.6–30.9] | 60.7 [57.0–64.4] | 28.8 [26.7–30.8] | 60.5 [49.1–71.8] |
| Psychotropics | 25.9 [25.2–26.5] | 44.8 [41.1–48.4] | 27.5 [25.6–29.5] | 44.0 [33.8–54.3] |
| Other specified | 9.6 [9.2–10.1] | 48.6 [41.8–55.5] | 22.5 [20.8–24.2] | 28.9 [19.1–38.8] |
| Unspecified | 34.1 [33.4–34.7] | −31.9 [−30.5 – −33.2] | 34.5 [32.5–36.5] | −26.7 [−22.5 – −30.9] |
| >1 Major drug classd | 43.6 [42.9–44.4] | 58.8 [56.1–61.5] | 36.4 [34.2–38.5] | 60.8 [51.3–70.3] |
aData from the Multiple Cause of Death files
bAdjusted proportions are average predicted values from probit models, where at least one specific drug is assumed to be mentioned for all poisoning deaths (SPECIFY = 1). Models also control for: sex, race (black, other), Hispanic, currently married, education (high school dropout, high school graduate, some college, college graduate), age (≤20, 21–30, 31–40, 41–50, 51–60, 61–70, 71–80, >80), day of the week of death, and census region
c% Difference shows the percentage difference between adjusted proportions and those obtained directly from mentions on death certificates
dTwo or more of the drug types: opioid analgesics, other narcotics, sedatives, psychotropics, or other specified drugs