Table 4.
Opioid-related data, including rates of PWID, across PUDP, aged 15–64 years in treatment in England 2018/2019 [27] and Scotland 2015/2016 [25, 31, 32]
| PUDP1 | England (N/rate) | Scotland (N/rate) | Rate ratio2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PUDP total number1 | 313,971 | 57,300 | − |
| PUDP rate per 100,000 adult population1 | 890 | 1,620 | 1.8 |
| Opioid-related PUDP (mainly heroin)1 | 261,294 | 57,300 | − |
| Opioid-related PUDP rate per 100,000 population1 | 720 | 1,620 | 2.3 |
| Mean age in 2018, yrs | 42.9 | 44.9 | |
| PWID, % of PUDP England 2011; Scotland 2006 | 43 | 43 | 1.0 |
| PWID (rate per 100,000 population) England 2011 Scotland 2006 | 375 | 680 | 1.8 |
| PWID, % of PUDP England 2015; Scotland 2009 | 40 | 27 | 0.7 |
| PWID (rate per 100,000 population) England 2015; Scotland 2009 | 340 | 450 | 1.3 |
| Mean age PUDP (2009–2018), yrs | 37.5–42.9 | 36.6–44.9 | |
| Increase in mean age of PUDP (2009 vs.2018), yrs | 5.4 | 8.3 | 1.5 |
| Mean age PUDP-entrants (2009–2018), yrs | 33.0–31.6 | 29.7–35.7 | |
| Mean age PUDP-entrants in 2018, yrs | 11.3 | 9.2 | 0.8 |
| PUDP in treatment: total number | 192,696 | 30,046 | |
| PUDP in treatment: mean age in 2018, yrs | 40.0 | 35.6 | 0.9 |
| PUDP in treatment: age 35–64 years, % | 68 | 64 | 0.9 |
| PUDP in treatment: males, % | 73 | 71 | 1.0 |
| Opioid-related PUDP in treatment: total number3 | 139,845 | 25,569 | |
| Opioid PUDP in treatment: % of total opioid PDU | 544 | 45 | 0.8 |
| Opioid PUDP in treatment: rate per 100,000 adult population | 385 | 724 | 1.9 |
PWID, persons who inject drugs; PDU, problem drug users; OST, opioid substitution treatment.
PUDP: people using drugs in a problematic way, previously described as PDU. Users of opiates (heroin, methadone, and other opiate drugs), crack cocaine, or both; does not include the use of powder cocaine. However, Scotland and England adopted different definitions for PDU [32] with PDU defined in Scotland as regular use of illegal opioids, benzodiazepines, or prescribed OST drugs. These data refer to 2016/2017 (England).
Ratio Scotland versus England.
Mentioned as main problematic drug, but more than one drug could be mentioned as primary problematic substance.
52% based on 136,701 opioid users receiving in 2016 OST out of 261,294 problem opioid users [33].