{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,22]],"date-time":"2026-10-22T16:39:39Z","timestamp":1792687179296,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"S. Karger AG","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1792022400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1792022400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Eur Addict Res"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: People with opioid use disorder experience markedly elevated all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Opioid-agonist treatment (OAT) reduces mortality risk, and OAT populations across Europe are ageing, with cardiovascular, respiratory, and liver diseases accounting for a growing proportion of deaths. However, cause-specific mortality beyond overdose remains poorly characterized in large national cohorts. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study including all 26,031 individuals (76% men) recorded in the Austrian national OAT registry between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2019, linked to the national causes of death registry with follow-up through December 31, 2021. We calculated sex-specific age-standardized mortality rates per 100,000 person-years (2013 European Standard Population), standardized rate ratios (SRRs), and cause-specific standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) compared with the Austrian general population. Results: Across 278,959 person-years of follow-up, 2,358 deaths occurred. Cohort members had substantially higher mortality across all causes, with greater excess among women (SRR 7.06, 95% CI 6.45\u20137.72) than men (3.86; 3.69\u20134.04). Beyond substance use-related causes (SMR 33.2, 95% CI 31.4\u201335.2), the highest SMRs were found for viral hepatitis (63.8, 52.3\u201377.8), HIV (48.6, 39.0\u201360.6), and valvular heart diseases and endocarditis (28.4, 18.6\u201343.6). By the early to mid-40s, deaths from non-communicable diseases collectively exceeded those from substance use-related causes. Conclusion: Austria\u2019s national OAT cohort experiences substantial excess mortality across all major causes, with high relative excess for substance use-related, infectious, and liver-related conditions. As OAT populations age, non-communicable diseases account for an increasing share of deaths. Future analyses linking the cohort to additional data sources will be needed to disentangle the underlying contributions to this excess mortality.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1159\/ear\/acrag005","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T11:36:17Z","timestamp":1788867377000},"page":"1-1","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Mortality and Causes of Death among Individuals in a National Opioid Agonist Treatment Cohort"],"prefix":"10.1159","author":[{"given":"Tanja","family":"Schwarz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Judith","family":"Anzenberger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Martin","family":"Busch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eva S.","family":"Schernhammer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9387-2056","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Susanne","family":"Strohmaier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"127","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1360-0443.2010.03140.x"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamapsychiatry.2019.4170"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamapsychiatry.2021.0976"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.j1550"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41380-018-0094-5"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/14651858.CD002207"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12913-019-4282-z"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drugalcdep.2023.111036"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpsychires.2020.08.013"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S2215-0366(21)00392-8"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1159\/000530822"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2023.1179763"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12954-021-00473-9"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11469-026-01639-x"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0895-4356(88)90082-0"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S2468-2667(21)00254-1"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drugalcdep.2024.111087"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/add.12863"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/add.16524"},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2524.2007.00739.x"},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/02791072.2008.10400661"},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/08897077.2019.1671296"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2020.30201"},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2020.30676"},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.prcp.20190051"},{"key":"ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms25179314"},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clinthera.2017.12.016"},{"key":"ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2016.0274"},{"key":"ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhep.2015.03.025"},{"key":"ref30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drugpo.2022.103588"},{"key":"ref31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S2468-1253(21)00471-4"},{"key":"ref32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lanepe.2023.100792"},{"key":"ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1753-6405.2011.00682.x"},{"key":"ref34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2012-001755"},{"key":"ref35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/s2215-0366(18)30337-7"},{"key":"ref36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12888-022-04283-6"},{"key":"ref37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13011-022-00434-w"},{"key":"ref38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S2214-109X(17)30375-3"},{"key":"ref39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/add.16401"},{"key":"ref40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41572-019-0137-5"},{"key":"ref41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S2214-109X(17)30373-X"},{"key":"ref42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drugalcdep.2017.05.001"},{"key":"ref43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-021-10497-2"},{"key":"ref44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13011-020-00311-4"},{"key":"ref45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drugalcdep.2013.02.018"}],"container-title":["European Addiction Research"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/karger.com\/article-pdf\/doi\/10.1159\/ear\/acrag005","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,22]],"date-time":"2026-10-22T16:01:39Z","timestamp":1792684899000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/karger.com\/article\/doi\/10.1159\/ear\/acrag005"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]]},"references-count":45,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1159\/ear\/acrag005","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{"is-supplemented-by":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.6084\/m9.figshare.34146210","asserted-by":"subject"}]},"ISSN":["1022-6877","1421-9891"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1022-6877","type":"print"},{"value":"1421-9891","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]]}}}