Reference: FOI-2023-1667
You asked
I would like to know the number of deaths where methadone is recorded on the death certificate as cause of death in local authorities in London from November 2017 to November 2022 on a year by year basis.
We said
Thank you for your request.
Our mortality data comes from the information collected at death registration. All the conditions mentioned on the death certificate are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). From all of these causes, an underlying cause of death is selected using ICD-10 coding rules.
The underlying cause of death is defined by WHO as:
a) the disease or injury that initiated the train of events directly leading to death, or\ b) the circumstances of the accident or violence that produced the fatal injury
Our Deaths related to drug poisoning by selected substances, England and Wales dataset provides annual number of deaths registered related to drug poisoning in England and Wales by sex, region and whether selected substances were mentioned anywhere on the death certificate.
The ICD-10 cause codes used to define deaths related to drug poisoning are:
Mental and behavioural disorders due to drug use (excluding alcohol and tobacco)- F11--F16, F18--F19.
Accidental poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances- X40--X44
Intentional self-poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances- X60--X64
Assault by drugs, medicaments and biological substances- X85
Poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances, undetermined intent- Y10--Y14
In London, of drug-related poisonings involving methadone, there were 52 deaths in 2017, 64 deaths in 2018, 50 deaths in 2019, 54 deaths in 2020 and 63 deaths in 2021.
Please note:
1. Figures exclude deaths of non-residents and are based on May 2022 boundaries.
2. Figures are for deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in each calendar year. Due to the length of time it takes to complete a coroner's inquest, it can take months or even years for a drug-related death to be registered. More details can be found in the 'deaths related to drug poisoning' statistical bulletin:
3. Deaths were included where the underlying cause was drug poisoning and methadone was mentioned on the death certificate.
If this does not meet your needs, we may be able to create a custom output (subject to legal frameworks, disclosure control, resources and agreements of cost in line with the ONS Charging Policy.
Such enquiries can be made to: Health.Data@ons.gov.uk.