Publications by authors named "Gunnar Agren"

Aim: To identify and characterize oxycodone related deaths in Sweden from 2006 to 2018 and to compare them to other opioid-related deaths.

Methods: To assess the factors contributing to the deaths, we used multinomial logistic regression to compare oxycodone-related deaths extracted from all forensic autopsy examinations and toxicology cases in the age groups 15-34 (reference group), 35-54 and 55-74 with regard to sex, presence of benzodiazepines and alcohol at the time of death, prescription of oxycodone, benzodiazepines and antidepressants, previous substance use-related (SUD) treatment, and manner of death. The oxycodone related deaths were compared with deaths with presence of other opioids.

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Aim: Mental health problems in young people seem to be on the rise and more so in Sweden than in other locations. The aim was to compare the development of mortality rates for young adults in Sweden with Western Europe in total.

Methods: Young adults were defined as individuals aged 20-34 years and the study period was 2000-2017.

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Aim: In 2006-2014, the rate of drug-related deaths, typically opioid poisonings, more than doubled in Sweden. Opioid prescriptions for pain control or opioid agonist therapy also increased. In this retrospective study, we compared death rates between individuals whose first recorded contact with prescribed opioids was for pain control and individuals that had received substance use disorder (SUD) treatment before their first recorded opioid prescription.

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Aim: To study long-term mortality and causes of death in a cohort of drug users in relation to main type of drug use and HIV-status.

Methods: A total of 1640 hospitalized drug users in Stockholm was followed up from 1985 to the end of 2007. The mortality was compared with the general Swedish population and hazard ratios (HR) for the main risk indicators were calculated.

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Swedish voters' support for the labor movement has decreased from about 50 percent to less than 40 percent in recent decades, with a resulting loss of the majority in parliament. Over the same period, capitalism has undergone profound changes--transfer of production across borders, the huge growth and ultra-rapid movement of financial capital, and subordination of social welfare to the interests of profit. A new phase in the development of capitalism can be detected: from welfare capitalism to financial capitalism.

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Aim: To study the mortality and causes of death among homeless men and women in relation to the risk indicators, previous treatment for alcohol and drug abuse, previous treatment for mental disorders and non-Swedish citizenship.

Methods: The mortality was studied in a cohort comprising 1,757 men and 526 women compared with the general population and persons with inpatient treatment for alcohol- and drug-related disorders. The follow-up period was from 1995 to 1997 until the end of 2005.

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Isolated death (ID) (i.e., dying alone without anyone noticing for several days) has been suggested to be related to social isolation, mental disorder, and alcohol and/or drug abuse.

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