This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Drug-related deaths prevalent among recently released prisoners

The high death rate of prisoners after their release is significantly due to drug use, according to study results published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The cohort study included 76,208 prisoners released from the Washington State Department of Corrections between 1999 and 2009. A total of 2,462 people died after their release from prison during the period of observation. The leading cause of death was unintentional injuries (n=828) involving overdose (n=558).

Researchers found that opioids were involved in 14.8% (n=365) of all deaths and 58.6% (n=327) of overdose deaths. Pharmaceutical opioids were involved in 10.5% (n=259) of all deaths and 40.5% (n=226) of deaths caused by overdose. The second most substance-related death involved cocaine (n=209). The study’s findings indicate that women were at a higher risk of death involving opioids, cocaine and antidepressants.

 

Ingrid A. Binswanger

The researchers said the habits and needs of released prisoners should be considered to reduce the number of substance-related deaths. “Innovative health care, public health, and policy efforts are needed to reduce the risk for death after release from prison,” study researcher Ingrid A. Binswanger, MD, MPH, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and colleagues concluded.

Disclosure: See the study for a full list of financial disclosures.