Shedding light on the hidden methamphetamine abuse: a nation-wide 7-year post-mortem study in Taiwan

Background: The number of methamphetamine-related deaths has been increasing in recent decades. However, current data primarily rely on a few large-scale national surveys, highlighting the need for diverse data sources. Post-mortem studies offer advantages that compensate for the limitations of cohort studies. In this study, we aimed to (1) examine mortality rates and years of potential life lost, (2) compare proportionate mortality with previous cohort studies, and (3) quantitatively investigate causes of death as potential risk factors associated with each manner of death.

Methods: We analyzed 740 cases from 2013 to 2019 in Taiwan.

Results: The mean age of cases was 38.4 years, with a notable loss of 30s years of potential life, and 79.6% were male. The crude mortality rate was 0.45 per 100,000 person-years. The proportionate mortality indicated that autopsy dataset, compared to cohort studies, provided more accurate estimations for accidental deaths, equivalent suicides, underestimated natural deaths, and overestimated homicides. Accidental deaths were evident in 67% of cases with 80% attributed to drug intoxication. Multiple substances were detected in 61% of cases, with psychiatric medications detected in 43% of cases. Higher methamphetamine concentrations and a greater proportion of multiple substances and benzodiazepines were detected in suicidal deaths. Among accidental deaths, traffic accidents (7.9%) were the second most common cause, particularly motorcycle riders.

Conclusions: Using autopsy dataset as a secondary source, we identified that over half of the cases involved accidental drug intoxication. The significant proportion of cases involving multiple substances, psychiatric medications, and drug-impaired driving raises concerning.