Groups identified as being at high-risk for illicit drug overdose include: Only one in five poisonings reported to the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) in 2013–2014, including illicit drug overdose, were reported as being intentional Men continue to be more at risk of a DRD than women (69% compared with 31% of cases in England and Wales in 2013, respectively). Alcohol or long-term alcohol misuse was mentioned, in addition to another drug, in 30% of cases. Multiple drug use remains a significant problem in drug overdoses, and is mentioned on the death certificate in 40% of drug poisoning cases in England and Wales. Other drugs most commonly related to DRDs include methadone and other opioids such as tramadol, benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, amfetamine-type substances including novel psychoactive substances (NPSs), and cocaine. Heroin or morphine was indicated in one in four of all DRDs reported in England and Wales for 2012–2013

Not all cases of overdose ultimately result in a DRD but it can be a useful surrogate marker in determining both the drugs involved in overdoses and their relative potency. In 2010, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that between 153 million and 300 million people aged 15–64 years had used an illicit substance at least once in the previous year, and there were between 99,000 and 253,000 drug-related deaths (DRDs) globally.

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