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Widespread entry to opioid agonist therapy (OAT) can scale back the chance of suicide by 35% amongst individuals with opioid use dysfunction, in keeping with a brand new research printed in Dependancy.
Researchers led by the Nationwide Drug and Alcohol Analysis Centre (NDARC) at UNSW Sydney stated their findings counsel the OAT program in New South Wales (NSW) averted an estimated 338 suicides between 2001 and 2020.
“Our study underscores the critical role of OAT, including methadone and buprenorphine, as life-saving medications and a key public health intervention in reducing suicide risk among people with opioid use disorder,” stated Dr. Thomas Santo Jr, a Postdoctoral Analysis Fellow at NDARC and lead writer of the research.
“It also highlights the urgent need to expand access to OAT—both locally and globally—given the potential to reduce suicide-related deaths in these individuals by more 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 consequence of suicide.
OAT is widely known as the best therapy for decreasing 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 group analyzed knowledge from practically 47,000 people who acquired OAT in neighborhood 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 in the neighborhood and 13 in jail—between 2001 and 2020.
This corresponds to 35% of suicide deaths averted in the neighborhood and 27% in jail settings amongst individuals with opioid use dysfunction.
“Without an OAT program in NSW, we estimate that nearly 960 suicides could have occurred among people with opioid use disorder between 2001 and 2020. Instead, with OAT in place, 338 of these suicides were prevented, leading to a gain of 2,704 life-years—highlighting its life-saving impact,” stated Dr. Santo Jr.
“Particularly, our research signifies that OAT provision was linked to a prevention of two% of all suicides that occurred in NSW throughout the identical interval—a modest affect, however nonetheless essential to reaching the WHO and UN Sustainable Improvement Objective targets to chop suicide charges by one-third by 2030.
“Given its proven effectiveness in reducing suicide risk, particularly compared to many other interventions, expanding access to OAT should be a priority in broader suicide prevention strategies.”
Dr. Santo Jr added that entry to OAT may additionally scale 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 can make a substantial difference in preventing suicide among marginalized communities, particularly given the structural and systemic barriers they face in accessing mental health and suicide prevention services.”
One limitation is that these findings are based mostly on the OAT program in NSW and should not apply to all packages or communities. The excessive protection charge, with practically 90% of individuals with opioid use dysfunction having acquired OAT at the very least as soon as, is probably going a key think about this system’s widespread affect and its impact on suicide prevention on this setting.
Extra data:
Thomas James Santo et al, Quantifying the affect of a giant‐scale opioid agonist therapy program on suicide prevention in New South Wales, Australia: A knowledge‐modeling research, Dependancy (2025). DOI: 10.1111/add.70018
Offered by
Nationwide Drug and Alcohol Analysis Centre (NDARC)
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Opioid agonist therapy program prevents lots of of suicides in Australia, says research (2025, March 3)
retrieved 3 March 2025
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