{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T12:14:04Z","timestamp":1777896844044,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":10,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,26]],"date-time":"2024-07-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1721952000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Med Sci Law"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Opioid abuse is a leading cause of drug-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. It has been suggested that the age of opiate users in Australia is rising. To evaluate this further in a local population, toxicology and pathology case files from Forensic Science SA, Adelaide, South Australia, were examined for all cases with lethal opioid levels from 2000 to 2019 (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009=\u2009499; M:F 2.3:1; age range 18\u201391 years, median age 42 years). The median age of opiate deaths increased significantly by approximately 16 years (\n                    <jats:italic>p\u2009<\/jats:italic>\n                    =\u20090.007,\n                    <jats:italic>R<\/jats:italic>\n                    <jats:sup>2\u2009<\/jats:sup>\n                    =\u20090.34) with a significant increase in total deaths in the 45\u201354 years and 55\u201364 years age groups (\n                    <jats:italic>p\u2009<\/jats:italic>\n                    =\u20090.009,\n                    <jats:italic>R<\/jats:italic>\n                    <jats:sup>2\u2009<\/jats:sup>\n                    =\u20090.32) (\n                    <jats:italic>p\u2009<\/jats:italic>\n                    =\u2009&lt;\u20090.001,\n                    <jats:italic>R<\/jats:italic>\n                    <jats:sup>2\u2009<\/jats:sup>\n                    =\u20090.54). Deaths due to heroin overdose showed the lowest median age (39 years,\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009=\u2009184), with deaths from tramadol toxicity having the highest (50.5 years,\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009=\u200932). Recent changes in the demographic profile of opioid users in cases of lethal overdose involve an aging population. Forensic and clinical practitioners should be aware of significant opioid abuse in certain individuals at older ages as this raises the possibility that this may exacerbate the effects of age-related chronic diseases in this group and\/or contribute to fatalities.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/00258024241266578","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,26]],"date-time":"2024-07-26T05:14:45Z","timestamp":1721970885000},"page":"216-220","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Increasing age and lethal opiate use"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"65","author":[{"given":"Jeremy WS","family":"Hunter","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Biomedicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Corinna","family":"van den Heuvel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Biomedicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lilli","family":"Stephenson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Biomedicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lauren","family":"Elborough","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Computer and Mathematical Science, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0524-5942","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roger W","family":"Byard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Biomedicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia"},{"name":"Forensic Science SA, Adelaide, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-47497-7"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","unstructured":"UNODC. World drug report 2021: executive summary policy implications https:\/\/www.unodc.org\/res\/wdr2021\/field\/WDR21_Booklet_1.pdf (accessed 10 October 2023)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","unstructured":"Chrzanowska A Man N Akhurst J et al. Trends in overdose and other drug-induced deaths in Australia 2002\u20132021. National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre UNSW Sydney https:\/\/ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au\/sites\/default\/files\/ndarc\/resources\/NIDIP_Drug%20induced%20deaths_2002-2021_Report.pdf (2023 accessed 10 October 2023)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","unstructured":"Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Opioid harm in Australia and comparisons between Australia and Canada. Cat. no. HSE 210. Canberra: AIHW https:\/\/www.aihw.gov.au\/getmedia\/605a6cf8-6e53-488e-ac6e-925e9086df33\/aihw-hse-210.pdf (2018 accessed 10 October 2023)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1071\/AH18245"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_2","volume-title":"Opioid, amphetamine, and cocaine-induced deaths in Australia, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre","author":"Roxburgh A","unstructured":"Roxburgh A, Dobbins T, Degenhardt L, et al. Opioid, amphetamine, and cocaine-induced deaths in Australia, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre. University of New South Wales, https:\/\/ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au\/resource\/opioid-amphetamine-and-cocaine-induced-deaths-australia-august-2018 (2018, accessed 10 October 2023)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jflm.2021.102181"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/add.14784"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41533-019-0161-7"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/bcp.12937"}],"container-title":["Medicine, Science and the Law"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/00258024241266578","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/00258024241266578","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/00258024241266578","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,1]],"date-time":"2026-05-01T08:39:12Z","timestamp":1777624752000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/00258024241266578"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,26]]},"references-count":10,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,7]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/00258024241266578"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/00258024241266578","relation":{},"ISSN":["0025-8024","2042-1818"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0025-8024","type":"print"},{"value":"2042-1818","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,26]]}}}