Opioid agonist treatment program prevents hundreds of suicides in Australia, says study

Widespread entry to opioid agonist remedy (OAT) can cut back the chance of suicide by 35% amongst individuals with opioid use dysfunction, based on a brand new examine printed in Habit.

Researchers led by the Nationwide Drug and Alcohol Analysis Centre (NDARC) at UNSW Sydney mentioned their findings recommend the OAT program in New South Wales (NSW) averted an estimated 338 suicides between 2001 and 2020.

“Our examine underscores the crucial position of OAT, together with methadone and buprenorphine, as life-saving medicines and a key public well being intervention in lowering suicide danger amongst individuals with opioid use dysfunction,” mentioned Dr. Thomas Santo Jr, a Postdoctoral Analysis Fellow at NDARC and lead writer of the examine.

“It additionally highlights the pressing must broaden entry to OAT—each regionally and globally—given the potential to scale back suicide-related deaths in these people by greater than one-third.”

World estimates for tried suicide in individuals with opioid use dysfunction vary from 20% to 50%, and round one in 12 deaths on this inhabitants are as a result of suicide.

OAT is well known as the best remedy for lowering overdose deaths in individuals with opioid use dysfunction, however its position in suicide prevention has been much less clear.

To deal with this, Dr. Santo Jr’s staff analyzed information from almost 47,000 people who acquired OAT in group and jail settings in NSW between 2001 and 2017. They then estimated the variety of suicides prevented by the OAT program over a 20-year interval.

Based mostly on their modeling, entry to OAT was estimated to have averted 338 suicides—325 locally and 13 in jail—between 2001 and 2020.

This corresponds to 35% of suicide deaths averted locally and 27% in jail settings amongst individuals with opioid use dysfunction.

“With out an OAT program in NSW, we estimate that almost 960 suicides might have occurred amongst individuals with opioid use dysfunction between 2001 and 2020. As an alternative, with OAT in place, 338 of those suicides had been prevented, resulting in a achieve of two,704 life-years—highlighting its life-saving influence,” mentioned Dr. Santo Jr.

“Particularly, our examine signifies that OAT provision was linked to a prevention of two% of all suicides that occurred in NSW throughout the identical interval—a modest influence, however nonetheless essential to reaching the WHO and UN Sustainable Growth Purpose targets to chop suicide charges by one-third by 2030.

“Given its confirmed effectiveness in lowering suicide danger, notably in comparison with many different interventions, increasing entry to OAT needs to be a precedence in broader suicide prevention methods.”

Dr. Santo Jr added that entry to OAT might additionally cut back well being inequities in NSW, as people experiencing homelessness, these from decrease socio-economic backgrounds, and Aboriginal communities have disproportionately excessive charges of opioid use dysfunction.

“A population-level intervention like OAT could make a considerable distinction in stopping suicide amongst marginalized communities, notably given the structural and systemic limitations they face in accessing psychological well being and suicide prevention providers.”

One limitation is that these findings are primarily based on the OAT program in NSW and will not apply to all packages or communities. The excessive protection charge, with almost 90% of individuals with opioid use dysfunction having acquired OAT not less than as soon as, is probably going a key think about this system’s widespread influence and its impact on suicide prevention on this setting.

Supplied by
Nationwide Drug and Alcohol Analysis Centre (NDARC)