Surviving drug addiction: the effect of treatment and abstinence on mortality

Abstract

Objectives: We examined the relationships between substance abuse treatment, abstinence, and mortality in a sample of individuals entering treatment. We also estimated overall mortality rates and the extent to which they varied according to demographic, clinical severity, and treatment variables.

Methods: We used data from a 9-year longitudinal study of 1326 adults entering substance abuse treatment on the west side of Chicago, of whom 131 died (11.0 per 1000 person-years). Baseline predictors, initial and long-term treatment response, and substance use patterns were used to predict mortality rates and time to mortality.

Results: Older age, health problems, and substance use were associated with an increased risk of mortality, and higher percentages of time abstinent and longer durations of continuous abstinence were associated with a reduced risk of mortality. Treatment readmission in the first 6 months after baseline was related to an increased likelihood of abstinence, whereas readmission after 6 months was related to a decreased likelihood of abstinence, suggesting that treatment timing is significant.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest the need to shift the addiction treatment field from an acute care model to a chronic disease management paradigm and the need for more aggressive screening, intervention, and addiction management over time.

FIGURE 1

Summary of the relationships observed: adults in addiction treatment programs, Chicago, IL, 1996–2007. Note. PH = physical health; SA = sustained abstinence. Path coefficients are odds ratios from Table 2 (n = 1222). Odds ratio of 1 or more indicate higher rates of achieving 1 or more years of sustained abstinence or a high risk of mortality in the subsequent 12 months. All odds ratios are significant at P < .05.