December 30, 2020

Association of Substance Use Disorders and Drug Overdose with Adverse COVID-19 Outcomes in New York City: January–October 2020

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Public Health Policy and Practice

Keywords (Tags): risk factors

A history of substance use disorder (SUD) and drug overdose is a risk factor for adverse outcomes in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in New York City. In a retrospective review of the medical records from 188,653 patients diagnosed with COVID in the NYU system, both SUD and drug overdose were associated with hospitalization, ICU admission, and death. Specifically, alcohol use disorder was associated with a 6.7-fold risk for hospitalization, overdose with a 5-fold risk for ICU admission, and overdose with a 3-fold risk for death.

Allen et al. (Dec 26, 2020). Association of Substance Use Disorders and Drug Overdose with Adverse COVID-19 Outcomes in New York City: January–October 2020. Journal of Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdaa241