The prevalence of substance use disorders among people in Norwegian, Danish and Swedish prisons: A multi-national cohort study, 2010–19

TY - JOUR

T1 - The prevalence of substance use disorders among people in Norwegian, Danish and Swedish prisons

T2 - A multi-national cohort study, 2010–19

AU - Bukten, Anne

AU - Virtanen, Suvi

AU - Hesse, Morten

AU - Thylstrup, Birgitte

AU - Kvamme, Timo Lehmann

AU - Seid, Abdu Kedir

AU - Chang, Zheng

AU - Skjærvø, Ingeborg

AU - Tverborgvik, Torill

AU - Stavseth, Marianne R.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors. Addiction published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction.

PY - 2024/7

Y1 - 2024/7

N2 - Aims: We estimated the prevalence of substance use disorders (SUDs) in the Norwegian, Danish and Swedish prison populations and compared the prevalence of SUDs in the national prison populations with country-specific general population prevalence rates. Design: A multi-national cohort study using data from the National Prison Registries linked to the National Patient Registries in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Setting and participants: We used data from the PriSUD-Nordic study, including national prison populations aged 19 years and older in Norway (2010–19), Denmark (2010–18) and Sweden (2010–13). A total of 119 507 Individuals (108 971 men and 10 536 women) contributing to 191 549 incarcerations were included in the study (Norway: 45432 men; 5429 women, Denmark: 42 162 men; 3370 women, Sweden: 21 377 men; 1737 women). Measurement: We calculated a study prevalence and prevalence at entry to prison for all types of SUDs before imprisonment each consecutive year of observation in each prison population. We also extracted country-specific 1-year prevalence rates from the Global Burden of Diseases database to calculate comparative national prevalence ratios. Findings: The study prevalence of any SUD was approximately 40% [Norway: 44.0%, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 43.6–44.5%; Denmark: 39.9%, CI = 39.5–40.4%; Sweden: 39.1%, CI = 38.4–39.7%] in all three countries. Women had a significantly higher study prevalence of any SUD compared with men (Norway: 55.8 versus 42.6%, P < 0.001; Denmark 43.1 versus 39.7%, P = 0.004; Sweden: 51.7 versus 38.0%, P < 0.001). Prevalence estimates were higher for SUDs among people in prison than in the general population. We observed an increasing proportion of people with SUDs entering prison in Norway (P = 0.003), while the proportion was more stable in Denmark and Sweden. Conclusions: Substance use disorders (SUDs) appear to be highly prevalent among the Scandinavian prison populations compared with the general population, especially among women. In Norway, there was a relative increase in SUDs from 2010 to 2019.

AB - Aims: We estimated the prevalence of substance use disorders (SUDs) in the Norwegian, Danish and Swedish prison populations and compared the prevalence of SUDs in the national prison populations with country-specific general population prevalence rates. Design: A multi-national cohort study using data from the National Prison Registries linked to the National Patient Registries in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Setting and participants: We used data from the PriSUD-Nordic study, including national prison populations aged 19 years and older in Norway (2010–19), Denmark (2010–18) and Sweden (2010–13). A total of 119 507 Individuals (108 971 men and 10 536 women) contributing to 191 549 incarcerations were included in the study (Norway: 45432 men; 5429 women, Denmark: 42 162 men; 3370 women, Sweden: 21 377 men; 1737 women). Measurement: We calculated a study prevalence and prevalence at entry to prison for all types of SUDs before imprisonment each consecutive year of observation in each prison population. We also extracted country-specific 1-year prevalence rates from the Global Burden of Diseases database to calculate comparative national prevalence ratios. Findings: The study prevalence of any SUD was approximately 40% [Norway: 44.0%, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 43.6–44.5%; Denmark: 39.9%, CI = 39.5–40.4%; Sweden: 39.1%, CI = 38.4–39.7%] in all three countries. Women had a significantly higher study prevalence of any SUD compared with men (Norway: 55.8 versus 42.6%, P < 0.001; Denmark 43.1 versus 39.7%, P = 0.004; Sweden: 51.7 versus 38.0%, P < 0.001). Prevalence estimates were higher for SUDs among people in prison than in the general population. We observed an increasing proportion of people with SUDs entering prison in Norway (P = 0.003), while the proportion was more stable in Denmark and Sweden. Conclusions: Substance use disorders (SUDs) appear to be highly prevalent among the Scandinavian prison populations compared with the general population, especially among women. In Norway, there was a relative increase in SUDs from 2010 to 2019.

KW - Alcohol

KW - corrections

KW - criminal justice

KW - drug use

KW - jail

KW - prison

KW - substance use disorder

KW - Prevalence

KW - Humans

KW - Norway/epidemiology

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Male

KW - Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology

KW - Young Adult

KW - Denmark/epidemiology

KW - Female

KW - Adult

KW - Registries

KW - Aged

KW - Sweden/epidemiology

KW - Prisoners/statistics & numerical data

KW - Cohort Studies

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85189501971&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/add.16477

DO - 10.1111/add.16477

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 38529890

AN - SCOPUS:85189501971

SN - 0965-2140

VL - 119

SP - 1264

EP - 1275

JO - Addiction

JF - Addiction

IS - 7

ER -