Increase in Overdoses of Psychotropic and Analgesic Drugs in Finland — 1969–1975

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Hospitalizations due to an overdose of analgesics, sedatives and hypnotics, antipsychotics and antidepressants, multiple drugs, and drug-alcohol combinations were studied. During the years 1969–1975, the admission rate for overdoses of psychotherapeutic agents increased 1.6-fold among males and 1.8-fold among females. The respective increases for drug-alcohol overdoses were 2.4-fold and 3.9-fold. Roughly one half of the above patients were 20–44 years of age. Case-fatality ratios were significantly (p > 0.01) higher among both females and males with a multiple drug overdose than among the other overdose patients; 2.7% of male and 2.4% of female patients with multiple drug overdoses died, while the respective percentages for patients with other overdoses were 1.1 for males and 0.7 for females.

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit: