Skip to main content

Homeless Americans Face 16 Times the Odds for Sudden Death

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.

By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Oct. 24, 2023 -- Life on the streets can be deadly, with homeless Americans 16 times more likely to die suddenly than their peers, a new study says.

“Homeless individuals die young, at a mean age of 50 years,” said study co-author Dr. Zian Tseng, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

“Our study sheds light into the contribution of sudden death to the homeless population. We found both cardiac and non-cardiac causes, such as overdoses and unrecognized infections, are much higher among homeless individuals dying suddenly," Tseng said in a UCSF news release.

His team found that those experiencing homelessness had a 16-fold higher rate of sudden death from heart attacks and other causes. After excluding deaths from noncardiac causes, such as drug overdose, the rate of sudden cardiac death was still seven times higher than in the general population.

Some of those deaths might have been prevented with access to defibrillators and other public policy measures, according to the study authors.

For the study, the researchers looked at autopsies of nearly 870 people who had died suddenly, more than 150 of whom were homeless.

Among the homeless, the investigators found a higher prevalence of alcohol and substance use, and psychiatric conditions, especially schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Homeless people died most often from noncardiac causes, while housed individuals died more frequently from heart-related causes. These noncardiac causes included drug overdoses, gastrointestinal disorders and infection.

Paramedic response times were similar between both groups, the study found.

“While the high rate of substance use in the homeless population has long been recognized, our study demonstrates its association with early, sudden mortality and its true impact among the homeless,” said co-author Dr. Leila Haghighat, a cardiology fellow at UCSF.

“Public health interventions such as increasing the availability of automatic external defibrillators and redoubled efforts to treat substance use and targeted immunization efforts might be helpful to reduce sudden mortality,” she said.

The findings were published Oct. 23 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Sources

  • University of California, San Francisco, news release, Oct. 23, 2023

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted October 2023

Read this next

Many Americans Are Using Marijuana to Manage Health Issues

THURSDAY, June 6, 2024 -- One in six patients serviced by a major California health care system said they used marijuana regularly, with many citing health reasons for doing so, a...

How Drinking on Long-Haul Flights Could Threaten Your Heart

TUESDAY, June 4, 2024 -- Booze could threaten a sleeping air passenger’s heart health, particularly on long-haul flights, a new study warns. Alcohol combined with cabin...

Wegovy, Ozempic May Help Curb Alcohol Dependence

TUESDAY, June 4, 2024 -- Could the blockbuster GLP-1 meds like Wegovy and Ozempic have a role to play in helping people cut down on problem drinking? A new study suggests...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.