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Trends in drug-related hospitalisations in Australian Capital Territory, 1999-2020

Australian Capital Territory

There were 892 hospitalisations with a drug-related principal diagnosis in Australian Capital Territory in 2019-20.

This is equivalent to 207 hospitalisations per 100,000 people, which was a significant increase from 2018-19 (179 hospitalisations per 100,000 people; p<0.001) (Table 1) and higher than the rate in 1999-00 (125 hospitalisations per 100,000 people) (Figure 1).

Sex

The rate of hospitalisations was higher among females than males in 2019-20 (249 versus 167 hospitalisations per 100,000 people).

Age

In 2019-20, the rate of hospitalisations was highest among the 20-29 age group, followed by the 10-19 and 30-39 age groups (428, 347, and 267 hospitalisations per 100,000 people, respectively).

Remoteness Area of Usual Residence

Over 99.8% of the population in Australian Capital Territory resided in major cities and the remaining resided in inner regional areas. For this reason, data on hospitalisations by remoteness area are not presented.

External Cause of Drug Poisoning

In 2019-20, 66% of drug-related hospitalisations in Australian Capital Territory were due to drug poisoning. Furthermore, 76% of drug poisoning related hospitalisations were intentional (108 hospitalisations per 100,000 people) and 16% were unintentional (22 hospitalisations per 100,000 people) (Figure 2).

Drug Type

In 2019-20, the rate of hospitalisations was highest where there was a principal diagnosis indicating amphetamines and other stimulants (40 hospitalisations per 100,000 people), closely followed by non-opioid analgesics (39 hospitalisations per 100,000 people) (Figure 3).

Compared to 2018-19, there was a significant decrease in 2019-20 in the rate of hospitalisations related to antipsychotics and neuroleptics (p<0.050) (Table 1).

In contrast, there were significant increases in the rates of hospitalisations related to amphetamines and other stimulants; non-opioid analgesics; antiepileptic, sedative-hypnotic and antiparkinsonism drugs; opioids; antidepressants; cannabinoids; and multiple drug use (p<0.050) (Table 1).


Figure 1. Age-standardised rate per 100,000 people of drug-related hospitalisations, by sex, Australian Capital Territory, 1999-00 to 2019-20.



Figure 2. Age-standardised rate per 100,000 people of drug-related hospitalisations, by principal diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorder due to substance use (A) and external cause of poisoning (B), Australian Capital Territory, 1999-00 to 2019-20.

Note: Age-standardised rates were not calculated if the number of hospitalisations was less than or equal to 10 (please refer to our methods document for details). Suppressed data are visible as gaps in the data series.


Figure 3. Age-standardised rate per 100,000 people of drug-related hospitalisations, by drug identified in the principal diagnosis, Australian Capital Territory, 1999-00 to 2019-20.

Note: Age-standardised rates were not calculated if the number of hospitalisations was less than or equal to 10 (please refer to our methods document for details). Suppressed data are visible as gaps in the data series.


Table 1. Age-standardised rate per 100,000 people of drug-related hospitalisations in 2019-20 and rate ratio and p-value for difference compared to 2018-19, in Australian Capital Territory by drug type identified in the principal diagnosis


Age-standardised rate (95% CI) 2019-20 versus 2018-19
Drug 2019-20 2018-19 Rate ratio P-value
All drugs 207 (194,222) 179 (166,192) 1.16 (1.14,1.18) <0.001
Amphetamines and other stimulants 40 (34,47) 36 (30,42) 1.13 (1.09,1.17) <0.001
Non-opioid analgesics 39 (33,45) 37 (32,44) 1.04 (1.00,1.07) 0.027
Antiepileptic, sedative-hypnotic and antiparkinsonism drugs 33 (28,39) 24 (20,29) 1.37 (1.32,1.42) <0.001
Opioids 26 (22,32) 25 (20,30) 1.07 (1.03,1.11) <0.001
Antidepressants 23 (19,29) 17 (13,21) 1.41 (1.35,1.48) <0.001
Antipsychotics and neuroleptics 18 (14,23) 21 (17,25) 0.88 (0.84,0.92) <0.001
Cannabinoids 14 (11,18) 12 (9,16) 1.11 (1.05,1.18) <0.001
Multiple drug use 6.9 ( 4.6, 9.9) 2.8 ( 1.4, 4.9) 2.47 (2.24,2.73) <0.001
Note: 95% confidence intervals for the age-standardised rate and rate ratio are shown in brackets. Please refer to our methods document on 'Presentation of results' for interpretation of rate ratios. Please also refer to our methods document on 'Scope of the data' and 'Coding of hospitalisations' for specifications of data selected and all exclusions.


Funding

The Drug Trends program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health under the Drug and Alcohol Program.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare for data from the National Hospital Morbidity Database.

Recommended citation

Chrzanowska, A., Man, N., Sutherland, R., Degenhardt, L. & Peacock, A. (2021). Trends in drug-related hospitalisations in Australia, 1999-2020. Sydney: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW Sydney.

Related Links

Hospitalisations data visualisations: https://drugtrends.shinyapps.io/hospital_separations

Hospitalisations methods document: https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/resource-analytics/trends-drug-related-hospitalisations-australia-1999-2020

For other Drug Trends publications on drug-related hospitalisations and drug-induced deaths, go to: https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/project/national-illicit-drug-indicators-project-nidip

For more information on NDARC research, go to: http://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/

For more information about the AIHW and NHMD, go to: https://www.aihw.gov.au/

For more information on ICD coding go to: http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/ https://www.ihpa.gov.au/what-we-do/icd-10-am-achi-acs-current-edition

For more research from the Drug Trends program go to: https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/program/drug-trends

Contact us

Email: drugtrends@unsw.edu.au