Risk of Heroin Dependence in Newly Incident Heroin Users

摘要

Some 30 to 50 US residents die of heroin overdoses each day.~(1) By comparison, an estimated 300 to 520 individuals start heroin use each day.~(2) For first-time users, these odds of overdose death might seem remote. For this reason, clinicians and public health practitioners deserve more compelling evidence to share with people who contemplate trying heroin. Seeking reproducible results via 15 US epidemiological samples, we estimate how often newly incident heroin users become dependent on heroin. Estimation focuses on the first 1 to 12 months after first heroin use.