Reuters (8/30, Joelving) reports on a study, published in the journal Addiction, which found that substance abusers recently discharged from hospitals face elevated death rates. Researchers discovered that the rates of deaths from overdose and suicide were more than ten times higher for addicts who had been discharged from a hospital for less than a month than those who had been discharged for a year or more. The study authors concluded, “Like prison-release, hospital discharge marks the start of a well-defined period of heightened vulnerability for drug-treatment clients.” Additionally, the researchers suggest that “hospital contact may simply represent a desperate, sometimes final, call for help.”
Related Links:
— “Suicide, OD risks high when addicts leave hospital, “Frederik Joelving, Reuters, August 29, 2012.