Dying for heroin: the increasing opioid-related mortality in the Republic of Ireland, 1980-1999.

Background: Over the past 20 years there has been a steady rise in mortality associated with opioid misuse in several Western countries. We aimed to examine trends in opioid-related mortality over a 20-year period in the Republic of Ireland.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of deaths attributed to ICD-9 codes 304.