All-cause and cause-specific mortality amongst individuals with substance misuse: A population-based linked data study in Wales

ObjectiveSubstance misuse has a detrimental impact on an individual’s health and the wider society, as well as elevated mortality. Here, we analysed the association between substance misuse events across several healthcare service providers and risk of mortality. ApproachIn this retrospective population-based cohort study, we identified substance misuse amongst a cohort in Wales, aged ≥10 years old between 2010 and 2019 using the Secure Anonymised Linkage (SAIL) Databank. Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to calculate risk for all-cause and cause-specific mortality. ResultsDuring the study period 16,229 (9.7%) individuals with a substance misuse event died. A high proportion of these individuals died prematurely (