Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31835011›Full record

ArticlePublic health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)2020

Validating Imputation Procedures to Calculate Corrected Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths, Marion County, Indiana, 2011-2016.

Sumedha Gupta, Alex Cohen, Evan M Lowder, Bradley R Ray

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Sumedha GuptaDepartment of Economics, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7924-4160
Alex CohenGiveWell, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Evan M LowderDepartment of Criminology, Law and Society, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA.
Bradley R RayCenter for Behavioral Health and Justice, School of Social Work, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesUnderstanding the scope of the current opioid epidemic requires accurate counts of the number of opioid-involved drug overdose deaths. Given known errors and limitations in the reporting of these deaths, several studies have used statistical methods to develop estimates of the true number of opioid-involved overdose deaths. This study validates these procedures using a detailed county-level database of linked toxicology and vital records data.

methodsWe extracted and linked toxicology and vital records data from Marion County, Indiana (Indianapolis), during a 6-year period (2011-2016). Using toxicology data as a criterion measure, we tested the validity of multiple imputation procedures, including the Ruhm regression-based imputation approach for correcting the number of opioid-involved overdose deaths.

resultsEstimates deviated from true opioid-involved overdose deaths by 3% and increased in accuracy during the study period (2011-2016). For example, in 2016, 231 opioid-involved overdose deaths were noted in the toxicology data, whereas the corresponding imputed estimate was 233 opioid-involved overdose deaths. A simple imputation approach, based on the share of opioid-involved overdose deaths among all drug overdose deaths for which the death certificate specified ≥1 drug, deviated from true opioid-involved overdose deaths by ±5%.

conclusionsCommonly used imputation procedures produced estimates of the number of opioid-involved overdose deaths that are similar to the true number of opioid-involved overdose deaths obtained from toxicology data. Although future studies should examine whether these results extend beyond the geographic area covered in our data set, our findings support the continued use of these imputation procedures to quantify the extent of the opioid epidemic.

Indexed as

Death CertificatesAdolescentAdultAgedData CollectionDrug OverdoseFemaleHumansIndianaMaleMiddle AgedNarcoticsReproducibility of ResultsSocioeconomic FactorsYoung AdultNarcoticsdrug overdoseimputationmisreportingopioids

Identifiers

PMID31835011
PMCPMC7119248

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.