Psychoactive substances in natural and unnatural deaths in Norway and Sweden – a study on victims of suicide and accidents compared with natural deaths in psychiatric patients

摘要

BackgroundThe extent of post-mortem detection of specific psychoactive drugs may differ between countries, and may greatly influence the national death register’s classification of manner and cause of death. The main objective of the present study was to analyse the magnitude and pattern of post-mortem detection of various psychoactive substances by the manner of death (suicide, accidental, undetermined and natural death with a psychiatric diagnosis) in Norway and Sweden.