Fatemeh Shahbazi - Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Davood Mirtorabi - General Practitioner, Department of Neurosciences and Addiction Studies, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mohammad Reza Ghadirzadeh - Forensic Medicine Specialist, Legal Medicine Research Center, Legal Medicine Organization, Tehran, Iran
Seyed Saeed Hashemi-Nazari - Associate Professor, Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Center AND Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Background: Addiction and drug misuse is an illness that affects every community in every country. Based on the previous research in many parts of the world, illicit drug use is considered as a well-known risk factor for morbidity, disability, and premature mortality. Although this issue is a hot topic for public health, little studies have looked the epidemiology of substance abuse death and its trends among Iranian society. This study aims to calculate the rate of substance misuse mortality and investigate its trend in Iran. Methods:This research was a cross-sectional study. For doing this study, the demographic and epidemiological data of people who died from substance misuse from ۲۰۱۴-۲۰۱۸ were extracted from Legal Medicine Organization (LMO). Finally, descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Findings: ۱۵۳۰۴ deaths due to drug misuse were recorded in ۲۰۱۴-۲۰۱۸. The substance abuse mortality rate has increased during the study period in men and women. There were significant differences in death rates between men and women. Crude mortality rate was significantly higher among men compared to women. The majority of deaths has occurred in young men aged ۳۰-۳۹ years with high school education and self-employed. Conclusion: The results revealed that death from substance misuse has increased during the study period. This increasing trend was observed in women and men. Further preventive measures, however, should be devised to reduce drug-related deaths. The majority of deaths occurred in young men aged ۳۰-۳۹ years with high school education and self-employed. In our opinion and based on the study results, programs, policies, and preventive measures should be taken to prevent these people from accessing and using the drug.

Epidemiology, Substance-related disorders, Opiate-related disorders, mortality, Trends, Iran