ArticleThe British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science2023
Drug-related deaths among housed and homeless individuals in the UK and the USA: comparative retrospective cohort study.
Article in The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Characteristics of deaths due to drug-related causes among individuals recently released from prison in the United Kingdom, 1997-2025.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Article
- Characteristics of methamphetamine-related deaths in the United Kingdom, 1997-2024.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Article
- Characteristics of drug-related deaths among individuals identified as LGBTQ+ in the United Kingdom, 1997-2024.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Article
- Characteristics of Drug-Related Deaths Among Individuals Engaged in Sex Work in the United Kingdom, 1997-2023.Drug and alcohol review · 2025Article
- Characteristics of drug-related deaths where individuals are found submerged in a bath or hot tub in the United Kingdom, 1997-2023.Drug and alcohol review · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe UK and USA currently report their highest number of drug-related deaths since records began, with higher rates among individuals experiencing homelessness.
aimsGiven that overdose prevention in homeless populations may require unique strategies, we evaluated whether substances implicated in death differed between (a) housed decedents and those experiencing homelessness and (b) between US and UK homeless populations.
methodWe conducted an internationally comparative retrospective cohort study utilising multilevel multinomial regression modelling of coronial/medical examiner-verified drug-related deaths from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2021. UK data were available for England, Wales and Northern Ireland; US data were collated from eight county jurisdictions. Data were available on decedent age, sex, ethnicity, housing status and substances implicated in death.
resultsHomeless individuals accounted for 16.3% of US decedents versus 3.4% in the UK. Opioids were implicated in 66.3 and 50.4% of all studied drug-related deaths in the UK and the USA respectively. UK homeless decedents had a significantly increased risk of having only opioids implicated in death compared with only non-opioids implicated (relative risk ratio RRR = 1.87, 95% CI 1.76-1.98,
conclusionsBoth the rate and type of drug-related deaths differ significantly between homeless and housed populations in the UK and USA. The two countries also differ in drugs implicated in death. Targeted programmes for country-specific implicated drug profiles appear warranted.
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