6. Poisoning by drugs, etc., Australia 1994

(ICD9 E-codes 850-858)

Table 6.1 Key indicators of deaths due to poisoning by drugs, etc.

Indicator	Males	Females	Persons	Young adults are most at risk.
Cases	183	102	285
Percent of all injury deaths	4%	5%	4%
Crude rate/100,000 pop	2.1	1.1	1.6
Age-adjusted rate/100,000 pop	2.1	1.1	1.6
Change in adj. rate since 1993	-4%	3%	-2%
Average years lost before age 75 yrs	41	33	38

Age and sex distribution

Young adults aged 20-39 years are most at risk, with males in this age range accounting for 42% of the total number of deaths due to "accidental poisoning by drugs".
55% of all male drug poisoning deaths were due to heroin; four-fifths of those occurred to males aged 20-39 years. Other types of death due to poisoning by drugs were anti-depressants (15%) and unspecified drugs (13%).
25% of female "accidental poisoning by drugs" deaths was due to heroin and another 25% was due to antidepressants.

After the large rise in accidental poisoning deaths rates observed in 1993 rates remained reasonably static in 1994 (down by just under 2%). However, the rates recorded in 1993 and 1994 remain the highest since 1979 and represent an almost 80% rise in the period 1979-1994.
The rise in fatal poisoning rates has been due almost entirely to a large rise in deaths attributed to accidental opiate poisoning (generally heroin). In contrast, barbiturate poisoning has fallen to very low levels (one person died in 1994 compared to 52 in 1979).
Young children remain a low risk with only 4 accidental poisoning deaths recorded to children under the age of 15 years in 1994.

Since 1990 both SA and WA have been recording rates significantly higher than the national average.
The rate for Victoria in 1993 of 1.4 poisoning deaths per 100,000 was around 8 times the rate for the previous 3 years 1990-1992. The rate of 0.6 per 100,000 recorded in 1994 marked a return to pre-1990 rates.
Queensland has recorded significantly lower rates than the national average since 1988. The rate of 1 death per 100,000 recorded in 1994 continued this trend.
The rate of 5.4 per 100,000 population recorded in the NT in 1994 was well above the 1993 rate of less than 1 per 100,000. However, the small number of cases recorded in the NT limits meaningful interpretation. This is also true of the ACT where small numbers result in large fluctuations in rates.