ArticleBMC public health2022
Polysubstance use poisoning deaths in Canada: an analysis of trends from 2014 to 2017 using mortality data.
Article in BMC public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Selective Personality-Targeted Intervention and the Escalation of Substance Use During Adolescence: A Secondary Analysis of A Cluster-Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- Higher prevalence of non-fatal overdose with opioid and stimulant use compared to use of opioids alone.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2026Article
- Polysubstance use in Canada: prevalence, patterns, and self-reported harms from the 2023 Canadian Substance Use Survey.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Patient experiences and perceived efficacy of a newly implemented hospital-based withdrawal management unit in Vancouver, Canada: findings from the Road to Recovery evaluation.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2026Article
- Article
- Differential associations of mental health, mild traumatic brain injury and substance use between male and female university students.PloS one · 2026Article
- Substances and substance combinations among accidental substance-related acute toxicity deaths (AATDs) in Canada from 2016 to 2017.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Syringe service program leader and participant perspectives on reasons for opioid-stimulant co-use in the United States.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2025Article
- Circumstances surrounding alcohol toxicity deaths and prior pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorder in Ontario, Canada.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2025Article
- Substance-Related Acute Toxicity Deaths in Canada From 2016 to 2017: Protocol for a Retrospective Chart Review Study of Coroner and Medical Examiner Files.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2025Article
- Use of reagent test kits and fentanyl test strips among electronic music festival attendees in Colorado: prevalence, barriers, and behavior in response to drug checking.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Article
- Co-involvement of stimulants with opioids in North America: A 'silent epidemic'.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- Article
- "Everybody looks at it as drug use instead of pain management": Experiences of chronic pain and its management among older people living with HIV who use drugs in Vancouver, British Columbia.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Article
- Opioid-related deaths between 2019 and 2021 across 9 Canadian provinces and territories.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2024Article
- Gender Differences in the Co-Use of Tranquilizers, Sedatives, Sleeping Pills and Alcohol among Spanish Adolescents: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOver the past decade, rates of drug poisoning deaths have increased dramatically in Canada. Current evidence suggests that the non-medical use of synthetic opioids, stimulants and patterns of polysubstance use are major factors contributing to this increase.
methodsCounts of substance poisoning deaths involving alcohol, opioids, other central nervous system (CNS) depressants, cocaine, and CNS stimulants excluding cocaine, were acquired from the Canadian Vital Statistics Death Database (CVSD) for the years 2014 to 2017. We used joinpoint regression analysis and the Cochrane-Armitage trend test for proportions to examine changes over time in crude mortality rates and proportions of poisoning deaths involving more than one substance.
resultsBetween 2014 and 2017, the rate of substance poisoning deaths in Canada almost doubled from 6.4 to 11.5 deaths per 100,000 population (Average Annual Percent Change, AAPC: 23%, p < 0.05). Our analysis shows this was due to increased unintentional poisoning deaths (AAPC: 26.6%, p < 0.05) and polysubstance deaths (AAPC: 23.0%, p < 0.05). The proportion of unintentional poisoning deaths involving polysubstance use increased significantly from 38% to 58% among males (p < 0.0001) and 40% to 55% among females (p < 0.0001). Polysubstance use poisonings involving opioids and CNS stimulants (excluding cocaine) increased substantially during the study period (males AAPC: 133.1%, p < 0.01; females AAPC: 118.1%, p < 0.05).
conclusionsIncreases in substance-related poisoning deaths between 2014 and 2017 were associated with polysubstance use. Increased co-use of stimulants with opioids is a key factor contributing to the epidemic of opioid deaths in Canada.
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