Aims This study compares the hazard of death among opiate and amphetamine using
clients who accessed drug treatment with individuals who had no specialist treatment
contact between 1985 and 1998. Design, setting, participants This was a retrospective
cohort study of 4280 drug‐using individuals (2887 opiate users, 1393 amphetamine users)
admitted to Perth metropolitan hospitals or Perth psychiatric institutions between 1985 and
1998. Of these, 1469 attended Next Step Specialist Drug and Alcohol Services (928 …

Bartu et al.'s [1] retrospective cohort study of mortality among opiate and amphetamine users
was a welloverdue contribution to estimating the mortality burden of drug use in Australia.
The researchers followed-up (retrospectively) 4280 amphetamine and opiate users admitted
into metropolitan hospitals and psychiatric institutions in Perth, Western Australia between
1985 and 1998. They used data linkage to estimate mortality rates in this cohort and
examined the effect of drug dependence treatment and other predictors on mortality. What …