Evidence mapPaperPMID 40640085Full record

Observational studyAddiction (Abingdon, England)2026

Changing trends in drug overdose mortality in Spain, 2001-2022.

Florencia Giné, Marta Donat, Juan Miguel Guerras, Gregorio Barrio, María José Belza, Julieta Politi, Enrique Regidor

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Florencia GinéComplejo Hospitalario Universitario Insular Materno Infantil, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain.ORCID 0009-0006-2254-3622
Marta DonatNational School of Public Health, Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid, Spain.
Juan Miguel GuerrasBiomedical Research Center Network for Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
Gregorio BarrioNational School of Public Health, Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-6257-3213
María José BelzaNational School of Public Health, Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid, Spain.
Julieta PolitiNational School of Public Health, Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid, Spain.
Enrique RegidorBiomedical Research Center Network for Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.

Funding

Delegación del Gobierno para el Plan Nacional sobre Drogas (DGPNSD) 2024I066Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia IMIENS-2023-002-PIL
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimTo measure the evolution of drug overdose mortality in Spain between 2001 and 2022. DESIGN, SETTING,

participantsA repeated cross-sectional observational study using nationwide mortality data from Spain, 2001-2022, among individuals aged 15-64 years. MEASUREMENTS: The outcome was overdose deaths [International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) codes: X40-X44, X60-X64, X85, Y10-Y14]. Annual age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) per million person-years were estimated. Joinpoint regression assessed changes in trends using annual percentage change (APC) and average APC (AAPC). Overdose deaths were grouped by the underlying drug categories involved: nonopioid analgesics, antipyretics and antirheumatics (X40/X60/Y10); antiepileptic, sedative-hypnotic, antiparkinsonism and psychotropic drugs (X41/X61/Y11); narcotics and psychodysleptics (X42/X62/Y12); other drugs acting on the autonomic nervous system (X43/X63/Y13); other and unspecified drugs, medicaments and biological substances (X44/X64/Y14); and drugs, medicaments and biological substances in the context of assault (X85). Intentionality (based on ICD-10 code characters) within the underlying drug categories was assessed. All analyses were stratified by sex.

findingsIn Spain, 15 862 overdose deaths occurred during 2001-2022. ASMR increased by 49.0% over the period, from 24.7 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 23.0, 26.5] to 36.8 (95% CI = 34.7, 39.0) deaths per million person-years. APC showed a statistically significant change in trends in 2010, shifting from a -3.3% (95% CI = -7.3 to -1.7) decline to an increase of 3.4% (95% CI = -0.3 to 6.5). In 2018, a more abrupt change was observed, with the APC further increasing to 13.8% (95% CI = 9.3, 22.5). Females showed an earlier trend change (2006) with an AAPC 1.7 times higher (3.4%; 95% CI = 2.4, 4.7) than males (2.0%; 95% CI = 1.2, 2.7). Leading drug categories were other and unspecified drugs, medicaments and biological substances, followed by narcotics and psychodysleptics. In males, trends followed the overall pattern; in females, the antiepileptic, sedative-hypnotic, antiparkinsonism and psychotropic drugs category predominated, mostly due to intentional overdoses.

conclusionsBetween 2001 and 2022, drug overdose deaths in Spain increased substantially, beginning in 2010 and further accelerated in 2018, though population rates remain low. The most prevalent underlying ICD-10 drug categories were other and unspecified drugs, medicaments and biological substances-likely reflecting polydrug use-and narcotics and psychodysleptics. The observed rise in deaths involving antiepileptic, sedative-hypnotic, antiparkinsonism and psychotropic drugs, particularly intentional overdoses among females, highlights the need for sex-based interventions.

Indexed as

Drug OverdoseAdolescentAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSpainYoung Adultdrug overdoseepidemiologyjoinpoint regressionmortalitypeople who use drugsprevalencepublic healthSpain

Identifiers

PMID40640085
PMCPMC12779592

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.