National drug related death database (Scotland)
Analysis of Deaths Registered in 2019 and 2020

About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents information from the National Drug-Related Deaths Database (NDRDD) on Drug-Related Deaths (DRDs) registered in Scotland in 2019 and 2020, with trend data from 2012. The report narrative and main points focus on DRDs registered in the most recently reported year, 2020.

Data from the NDRDD provides detailed information on DRDs in Scotland, providing insights into the lives of those who died and highlighting potential areas for intervention. 

Main points

Scotland has a cohort of people with problematic drug use who have multiple complex health and social care needs. Many people who had a DRD shared similar characteristics: they were male, aged over 35, socially deprived, lived alone and had a history of long term and / or injecting opioid use and near fatal overdose.

Among DRDs registered in 2020:

• The average age of people who died was 43 years old (an increase from 39 years in 2012).
• Over half (54%) of the people who died resided in the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in Scotland (Deprivation quintile 1).
• Three out of four people (76%) who had a DRD lived in their own home. Over half (63%) lived alone all of the time.
• 602 children were reported to have lost a parent or parental figure as a result of a DRD.
• Around half (47%) of people who died previously experienced a near fatal overdose.
• Two thirds (65%) of people (73% of those whose death was opioid-related) were in contact with a service with the potential to address their problematic drug use or deliver harm reduction interventions in the six months before death.
• Around one third (31%) of people who died had been discharged from a general acute hospital in the six months before death.
• In the six months prior to death, 52% of people who died had a medical condition recorded (respiratory illness, blood borne viruses, and epilepsy were most common) and 46% a recent psychiatric condition (depression and anxiety were most common).
• Over one third of people (37%) were prescribed an Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) drug (mainly methadone) at the time of death. The percentage of people who were prescribed an OST at the time of death has increased since 2012.
• Methadone was implicated in 53% of DRDs registered in Scotland - the highest number and percentage since 2012. The percentage of these deaths that occurred among people not prescribed methadone (40%) was higher than in previous years.

Background

For the first time in the NDRDD publication series, this publication describes the same Drug-Related Death (DRD) cohort as National Records of Scotland's (NRS) Accredited Official Statistics publication. The definition of a DRD is based on the UK-wide definition used by NRS for national reporting. Summary statistics on DRDs registered in 2019 and 2020 were previously published by NRS.

NDRDD information is collated by NHS Board Data Collection Co-ordinators from a range of data sources (e.g. police sudden death reports, pathology reports, clinical notes). NHS Boards submitted records for 1,335 deaths registered in 2020 (NRS reported 1,339 deaths) and for 1,245 deaths registered in 2019 (NRS reported 1,280 deaths). Quality and completeness issues associated with this data collection are described fully in the report.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be Autumn 2025.