Drug toxicity deaths after release from incarceration in Ontario, 2006-2013: review of coroner’s cases

TORONTO, July 6, 2016 - One in ten adults who died of a drug overdose in Ontario between April 2006 and March 2013 had been released from a provincial correctional facility within one year, researchers at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto have found.

The overdose death rate was highest immediately following release - nine per cent of the deaths occurred in the first two days and 20 per cent within the first week.

The study, published today in PLOS ONE, also found that three quarters of those who died of an overdose were under the age of 45.

"This is the first Canadian study to examine overdose mortality rates by matching incarceration records with coroner reports after release," said Dr. Nav Persaud, a scientist with the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's and a family doctor with the hospital's Academic Family Health Team. "We were surprised at how high the fatal overdose rate was among those who were recently released from provincial custody - almost 12 times higher than the general population."

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