Prevalence of alcohol and other psychoactive substances in motor vehicle drivers in Spain, 2018: Cross-sectional dataset analysis with studies from 2008 and 2013

Herrera‐Gómez, Francisco; García-Mingo, Mercedes; Álvarez, F. Javier

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110266

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Although the results from our study do not indicate that the presence of these psychotropics is significant in road fatalities, it should be noted that an increased crash risk has been reported in drivers using short-and long-acting BZDs, antidepressants, high-potency opiates, and antipsychotics [34]. In any case, our results agree with those published by Herrera-Gómez et al [30] and Domingo-Salvanya et al [35] who did not find a high level of BZDs in Spanish drivers. The absence of association at this point could be explained by the fact that, in our study, road fatalities included not only drivers, but also passengers or even fatally injured pedestrians.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…To date, a limited number of studies assessing the relevance of psychotropic medications in medico-legal issues have been published in Europe, except for studies analyzing drivers involved in road fatalities [29][30][31]. Nevertheless, it should be noted that most studies on drivers only assessed the prevalence of drugs belonging to the core list of substances included in the project "Driving Under the Influence of Drugs, Alcohol and Medicines in Europe" (DRUID Project) [32,33].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Medical Psychotropics in Forensic Autopsies in European Countries: Results from a Three-Year Retrospective Study in Spain

Almeida-González

Boada

Hernández

et al. 2022

Toxics

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Medical psychotropics are widely used and prescribed in developed countries. These medications may have an impairing effect on mood or perception and may induce harmful behaviors. Nevertheless, in Europe, studies on their importance from a medico-legal perspective are scarce. To fill this gap, we evaluate the determinants of these drugs in a retrospective study based on data obtained from forensic autopsies. Toxicological analyses were performed on 394 blood samples from compulsory autopsies at the Institute of Legal Medicine of Las Palmas. Of the samples, 41% (159) were positive for at least one psychotropic, with benzodiazepines being the most frequently detected (24.1%), followed by opiates and antidepressants. Benzodiazepines, opiates, and antidepressants were detected more frequently in men who suffered a violent death. More than 30% of the positive samples showed two or more drugs, suggesting a prevalence of polypharmacy among forensic autopsy subjects, with the most frequently combination found being benzodiazepines plus opiates (28.3% of positive samples). A combination of opiates plus antidepressants was also found in subjects involved in violent deaths. Our results suggest that more than 40% of the adult European population involved in medico-legal issues may be under the influence of legal psychotropics. The link between violent deaths and the use of medical psychotropics is particularly worrisome and indicates that these drugs should be carefully monitored in developed countries, in all forensic autopsies, in a similar way to illegal psychotropics.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medical Psychotropics in Forensic Autopsies in European Countries: Results from a Three-Year Retrospective Study in Spain

Almeida-González

Boada

Hernández

et al. 2022

Toxics

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“…The study design and methodology are consistent with previous studies conducted in 2008, 2013, and 2018 ( 7 , 10 , 11 , 14 ).…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 77%

“…Roadside drug testing of oral fluid was regulated in 2010 ( 10 ). Meanwhile, the zero-tolerance legal system was subsequently established in 2014 ( 9 , 11 , 12 ). Drivers are penalized €1,000 has 6 points taken off their license if any number of substances other than alcohol are found in their system or if they refuse to take the drug screening test.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Increase in driving after cocaine use in Spain: a cross-sectional dataset analysis for 2021

García-Mingo

Martín-Fernández

Gutiérrez-Abejón

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

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ObjectiveDriving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs impairs skills essential for safe driving, increases the risk of being involved in a traffic accident and is particularly prevalent in Spain. The aim is to assess the prevalence of positive substance driving cases, what factors may be associated with driving after substance use, and the evolution of the progress in the prevalence of drug use among drivers in drivers based on the 2008, 2013, 2018, and 2021 studies.Study design and settingThe present study was conducted in a representative sample of Spanish drivers in 2021 for alcohol (breath) and psychoactive substances [oral fluid (OF)]. The sample size was 2980 drivers, mostly males (76.5%) with a mean age of 41.35 ± 13.34 years.ResultsIn 2021, 9.3% of drivers tested positive for alcohol and/or drugs. The presence of alcohol alone was observed in 4.2% of drivers, alcohol and another substance in 0.3%, a single drug in 4.4%, and two or drugs other than alcohol in 0.4%. Overall, cocaine cases were the highest registered in 2021 (2.4%), while cannabis (1.9%) and polydrug cases (0.7%) were the lowest, with respect to the 2008/2013/2018 studies.ConclusionsAccording to our research, in 2021, 9 out of 100 drivers were detected to have some substance in their system. This prevalence remains unacceptably high in Spain, with a marked increase in the frequency of driving after cocaine use. Further interventions and measures must be taken to avoid driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

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Statistical Analysis of Toxicological Data of Victims of Traffic Accidents in Galicia (Spain)

et al. 2023

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Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a very common behavior in our environment and a serious problem for public health. On the one hand, in 2016, 400,000 people died in the world in traffic accidents in which ethanol was involved. On the other hand, traffic accidents in which the use of drugs of abuse other than ethyl alcohol accounted for more than 160,000 deaths worldwide in 2017. The objective of this work is to carry out a review of the 710 cases of people who died in traffic accidents received at the forensic toxicology service of the Institute of Forensic Sciences of the University of Santiago de Compostela (Galicia-Spain) over a period of 10 years (2009–2019). We performed an observational study of period prevalence, in which the following data were collected: age, sex, year, and analytical results in plasma, in the case of being positive. The data collected was subjected to statistical treatment. Of the 710 cases analyzed, 123 correspond to pedestrians and 587 to occupants of vehicles or motorcycles. A total of 77.6% of the deceased were men. At least one psychotropic substance was found in the blood of almost 40% of the victims. The most frequently found substance was ethyl alcohol, which appeared in 231 cases, more frequently in males. The second place is occupied by benzodiazepines, which appeared in 43 cases, followed by cocaine, which was detected in 25 cases. Polydrug use was found in only 44 cases, with the association of ethanol and cocaine being the most commonly found, followed by that of ethanol and benzodiazepines. Only in 5 of the cases analyzed there were 3 or more substances present. With the data obtained in this study, it is shown that in traffic accidents, the finding of different toxic or medicinal substances is frequent. Ethyl alcohol continues to be very present in road accidents (most detected substance), with the great impact that this implies. Secondly, the presence of benzodiazepines stands out, and cocaine is the third most detected toxic in this study. These results allow to obtain a profile of the substances most frequently involved in traffic accidents. Despite the surveillance, control, and information campaigns that the Spanish Government regularly carries out, the results are far from satisfactory.

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Prevalence of alcohol and other psychoactive substances in motor vehicle drivers in Spain, 2018: Cross-sectional dataset analysis with studies from 2008 and 2013

Cited by 8 publications

References 12 publications

Medical Psychotropics in Forensic Autopsies in European Countries: Results from a Three-Year Retrospective Study in Spain

Medical Psychotropics in Forensic Autopsies in European Countries: Results from a Three-Year Retrospective Study in Spain

Increase in driving after cocaine use in Spain: a cross-sectional dataset analysis for 2021

Statistical Analysis of Toxicological Data of Victims of Traffic Accidents in Galicia (Spain)

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