Lifetime mortality for subsance dependence

[jenglish]

A M.D. told me authoritatively that "Chemical dependency ultimately kills (in one way or another) about 90% of the people who suffer from it, a much higher mortality rate than almost any cancer." and could not give any source, saying it was common knowledge in medical school and was always the number used at conferences etc.  This number seems extremely high to me knowing the amount of people who meet criteria for dependence and spontaneously remit added to those who remit in treatment.  He presented it as a dichotomy, those who quit and those who die from it.  Any references to this sort of information?

[ibizan]

very true!and the research doesn't follow those who recover using non-12 step methods,church,family support etc.We do see these folks in our clinic!

[Jacker]

Well, think about this:  The ones who die and are registered as a statistic are the ones who keep abusing.  The people who are recovered don't end up at the doctors and end up dying of natural causes.....so they are never part of that statistic.  

That's just the first thought that came into my head, and it's not at all scientifically based!

[boogieman]

Hello. Like ibizan stated, there are lots of fatalities directly and indirectly by alcohol. Exact figures are hard to determine for many reasons. Often those who die from alcohol related disease are listed as dying from natural causes or organ failure to avoid the stigma of alcoholism. Then there are those who make use of 12 step programs, which do not keep records of their membership. Also there is a high incidence of suicide in those who meet the criteria for alcoholism. These correlations are likely to be even more inaccurate for other chemical dependencies due to the stigma and legal implications. For some statistics, which vary by age, sex and other factors, check out about.com, wikipedia, and the CDC. Hope this helps, GM

[ibizan]

if u live in the USA its estimated that 1 out of 10 is alcoholic which is 10 % of population.NOW i'm sure those numbers are way up to the increasing dependence of many on Percoset,Vicoden and Oxycontin plus other opiate based drugs.Heart disease and heart attacks claim many males here and heavy drinking is a factor.There are many alcohol related accidents in the home that can occur...such as falls and suicides committed while one is in a state of intoxication.if u want exact numbers i'm sure u can research this with your topic  typped in Google.