Drug deaths by age

Drug related deaths per 100,000 population by age group across Scottish cities
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The rate of drug related deaths was highest among 35-44 year olds in Dundee in the period 2017-2021. In Glasgow, the rate of drug deaths peaked among an older cohort of 45-54 year olds.

Drug related deaths per 100,000 population by age group across the Glasgow City Region
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The rate of drug related deaths was generally highest among 35-44 year olds compared to other age groups across Scotland and among the Glasgow City Region local authorities. In Glasgow, however, the drug related death rate was highest among 45-54 year olds. This was the highest age specfiic drug death rate across all local authorities.

Drug related deaths per 100,000 population in Scotland by gender
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The rate of drug related deaths in Scotland has increased dramatically for males and females from 2000 onwards. The rate of male drug-related deaths increased from 9 per 100,000 in 2000 to 36 per 100,000 in 2021. For females, the rate of drug-related deaths increased from 2 to 15 per 100,000 population over the same period. The rate for males reduced slightly in 2021 compared to the previous year.

Note

These data were taken from the annual drug death report published by National Records for Scotland.

Drug-related deaths are identified from death registrations and a specially-designed questionnaire completed by forensic pathologists. The forensic pathologists list the drugs and solvents identified for the deceased. For further details please refer to the above report.

Trends in rates of drug related deaths in Glasgow compared to other cities in the UK are presented in the Excess Mortality section.

This page was last updated in August 2022.