Table 2. Cause of Death Among 168 People Experiencing Homelessness Who Engaged in an OBAT Programa.
| Underlying cause of death | No. (%) of patients |
|---|---|
| External causes | |
| Drug overdose | 87 (51.8) |
| Opioid | 87 (100) |
| Alcohol | 32 (36.8) |
| Benzodiazepine | 17 (19.5) |
| Cocaine | 15 (17.2) |
| Suicide | 4 (2.4) |
| Accidents (unintentional injuries) | 3 (1.8) |
| Homicide | 2 (1.2) |
| Alcohol poisoning | 1 (0.6) |
| Other accidents (nonpoisoning) | 1 (0.6) |
| Natural causes | |
| Heart disease | 15 (8.9) |
| Psychoactive substance use disorder | 12 (7.1) |
| HIV disease | 10 (6.0) |
| Cancer | 6 (3.6) |
| Liver disease | 6 (3.6) |
| Ill-defined conditions | 5 (3.0) |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 3 (1.8) |
| Anoxic brain injury | 2 (1.2) |
| Sepsis | 2 (1.2) |
| Viral hepatitis | 2 (1.2) |
| Other diseases of the nervous system | 2 (1.2) |
| Chronic lower respiratory diseases | 1 (0.6) |
| Congenital malformations of the heart | 1 (0.6) |
| Diabetes | 1 (0.6) |
| Other diseases of the respiratory system | 1 (0.6) |
| Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis | 1 (0.6) |
Abbreviation: OBAT, office-based addiction treatment program.
a
Cause of death information not available for 25 deaths that occurred in 2019.