Analysis of Methamphetamine-Related Deaths: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study

IF 2.9 3区医学 Q2 SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Drug and alcohol review Pub Date : 2026-08-17 DOI:10.1111/dar.70241

Arif Garbioğlu, Hacı Altay

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction

Methamphetamine use and related mortality have increased worldwide, yet forensic data from Turkey remain limited.

Methods

This retrospective cross-sectional autopsy study investigated the demographic, toxicological and medicolegal characteristics of methamphetamine-related deaths in Zonguldak, Turkey, between 2015 and 2025. Among the 1863 forensic autopsies, 30 cases with analytically confirmed methamphetamine positivity were included.

Results

The mean age was 33.4 ± 8.7 years and 90.0% of the cases were male. The highest annual proportion of forensic autopsies with methamphetamine detected was observed in 2023. Accidental death was the most common manner of death and methamphetamine toxicity was the leading cause of death. All natural deaths were attributed to cardiovascular disease. Polydrug use was present in 56.7% of the cases.

Discussion and Conclusions

Our findings indicate that methamphetamine-related deaths in Turkey share demographic and forensic characteristics with international reports and underscore the growing medicolegal and public health burden associated with stimulant use.

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甲基苯丙胺相关死亡分析：一项回顾性横断面研究

在世界范围内，甲基苯丙胺的使用和相关死亡率有所增加，但来自土耳其的法医数据仍然有限。方法回顾性横断面尸检研究2015年至2025年间土耳其宗乌尔达克地区甲基苯丙胺相关死亡的人口学、毒理学和医学法律特征。在1863例法医尸检中，有30例经分析证实呈甲基苯丙胺阳性。结果患者平均年龄33.4±8.7岁，男性占90.0%。2023年是检出甲基苯丙胺的法医尸检年度比例最高的一年。意外死亡是最常见的死亡方式，甲基苯丙胺中毒是主要的死亡原因。所有自然死亡都归因于心血管疾病。56.7%的病例存在多种药物使用。讨论和结论我们的研究结果表明，土耳其与甲基苯丙胺相关的死亡与国际报告具有相同的人口和法医特征，并强调了与兴奋剂使用相关的日益增长的医学和公共卫生负担。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Drug and alcohol review SUBSTANCE ABUSE-

CiteScore

4.80

自引率

10.50%

发文量

151

期刊介绍： Drug and Alcohol Review is an international meeting ground for the views, expertise and experience of all those involved in studying alcohol, tobacco and drug problems. Contributors to the Journal examine and report on alcohol and drug use from a wide range of clinical, biomedical, epidemiological, psychological and sociological perspectives. Drug and Alcohol Review particularly encourages the submission of papers which have a harm reduction perspective. However, all philosophies will find a place in the Journal: the principal criterion for publication of papers is their quality.