Live and Let Die

The use of narcotics, particularly opiates, is a health and social problem that is prevalent worldwide. One serious outcome of opiate overdose is death. Chicago has serious opiate overdose-induced death problem that is not clearly understood. The purpose of this study is to better understand factors contributing to death from opiate overdoses. To acquire a better understanding of overdose death a comprehensive database of opiate-related deaths in Chicago was created, including only opiate-overdose incidents. Blacks constituted the largest number of opiate-related deaths. We found that, victims who were Black, male, married, and took the combination of heroin and cocaine died at an older age than other people who died of an overdose in our database. Extended longevity among opiate addicts might indicate the existence of resistance factors to death by opiate overdose. Investigating these factors might contribute to longer life expectancy and lower risk of death among opiate addicts. By identifying specific populations at risk, our results will further help health and policy officials design and implement efficient steps by targeting specific groups and preventing unnecessary deaths.