YOUNG WHITE MEN ACCOUNT FOR MOST UK ECSTASY DEATHS

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Deaths related to the "club drug" ecstasy occur
most often in white males in their late 20s, according to UK researchers.

Between 1997 and 2000, there were 81 deaths in England and Wales that were
at least partly attributable to ecstasy use, the researchers report. Males
accounted for 81% of the deaths, and 88% of victims were white, according to
findings published in the January 11th issue of the British Medical Journal.

Ecstasy, also known as MDMA, first gained notoriety as the drug-of-choice at
clubs and all-night "rave" parties, but it has become increasingly popular
as a sort of everyday drug.

There has been a widespread perception among young users that the drug is
safe. However, in extreme cases, ecstasy can cause spikes in body
temperature severe enough to be fatal. It has also been tied to heart
attack, stroke and seizures in some users.

In the new study, Dr. Fabrizio Schifano and colleagues at St. George's
Hospital Medical School in London looked at national records on substance
abuse deaths between 1997 and 2000.

Of the 81 deaths they found related to ecstasy, many also involved other
drugs, including opiates and prescription medications. And many of the
deceased had been "known to (health) services as drug addicts, and died at
home," the researchers note.

"People may have taken ecstasy with other drugs to modulate the effects,"
Schifano's team speculates, adding that "ecstasy had, at least, a
facilitating role in causing death."

Overall, coroners attributed 62% of the deaths to multiple-drug poisoning
and 7% to ecstasy poisoning alone.

Nearly one third of the deaths were attributed to "other" causes, such as
abnormally high body temperature, heart attack and drowning.

The researchers note that national efforts are underway to better understand
the role of other drugs in ecstasy-related deaths.

SOURCE: British Medical Journal 2003;326:80-81.