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Older people are more likely to die from drugs
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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According to the National Statistics Office, for the first time in the history of research, the mortality rate of older women from drugs and narcotics has exceeded the mortality rate of younger women.
Official figures show that the number of deaths among women in their fifties and sixties from accidental drug overdoses and suicides is significantly higher than deaths from the same causes among twenty-year-old girls.
As for women aged forty, there is also a tendency towards an increase in mortality compared to previous years.
Among the drugs and narcotics that have led to death, antidepressants stand out, but in most cases of death, paracetamol and methadone are to blame.
"These statistics tell us that fewer people, especially young people, die from the most dangerous drugs than from other drugs," said Roseanne O'Connor, a spokeswoman for the National Committee on Substance Abuse.
In 2011, a decline in male mortality was recorded, but at the same time an increase in female mortality. The main reason for this was the abuse of drugs by the fairer sex.
These data indicate a decrease in drug use and a drop in demand for medical services among young people. As a rule, people over forty with health problems actively use medications, risking exceeding the permissible limits and poisoning themselves.
In 2011, drug-related deaths among women aged 40 to 49 were almost as high as among those aged 30 to 39, with an average of 28.3 deaths per million people.
The mortality rate among women aged 40-49 continued to rise and was already much higher than in 2007. Although the peak of mortality occurred in 2008.
There were 14.4 drug-related deaths per million women aged 50 to 69 in 2011, the highest rate since the study began in 1993. For the first time, the rate exceeded the death rate among 20- to 29-year-olds (13.3 deaths per million women).
Most male drug addicts still die from heroin, despite a sharp decline in recent years. Antidepressants were the most common cause of drug-related deaths among women.
The number of deaths from the painkiller tramadol has increased significantly. In 1996, there was only one death from tramadol, while last year there were 154, which is due to the fact that it has become much more frequently prescribed to patients.
The number of deaths from barbiturates is also rising, from six in 2007 to 37 last year, despite the drugs becoming less commonly prescribed. The Office for National Statistics says that almost all deaths from barbiturates and helium gas were suicides.
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