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Drug and Alcohol Use Among Injured Motor Vehicle Drivers in Sweden: Prevalence, Driver, Crash, and Injury Characteristics
Author(s) -
Sjögren Harmeet,
Björnstig Utf,
Eriksson Anders,
Öhman Ulla,
Solarz Artur
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1997.tb04239.x
Subject(s) - crash , motor vehicle crash , injury prevention , medicine , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , drug , occupational safety and health , suicide prevention , environmental health , alcohol , medical emergency , psychiatry , computer science , biology , biochemistry , pathology , programming language
Injured motor vehicle drivers who were hospitalized (Umeå: n = 130) and fatally injured drivers who were autopsied (Umeå, Northem Sweden: n = 111; Gothenburg, Westem Sweden: n = 136) from May 1991 through December 1993 were tested for alcohol and for both licit and illicit drugs. Nineteen percent of the Umeå‐hospitalized drivers (UHDs), 26% of the Umeå fatally injured drivers (UFDs), and 21% of the Gothenburg fatally injured drivers (GFDs) tested positive for drugs and/or alcohol. Ten percent of the UHDs, 8% of the UFDs, and 6% of the GFDs tested positive for drugs. Almost 5% of the UHDs, had illicit drugs, and 6% had licit drugs. Only 3% of the GFDs and none of the UFDs had illicit drugs. Bemzodiazepines, followed by opiates, tetrahydrocannabinol, and amphetamine were the most common drugs detected. Twelve percent of the UHDs, 24% of the UFDs, and 17% of the GFDs tested positive for alcohol. Two percent of the UHDs, 6% of the UFDs, and 2% of the GFDs had a combination of drugs and alcohol.