VANCOUVER — The BC Coroners Service says completed investigations of 872 overdose fatalities show more than half of those who died had been diagnosed with a mental health disorder or had evidence of being mentally ill.
The service says the investigations represent about a third of the 2,545 overdose deaths in 2016 and 2017.
It says more than two-thirds of those who fatally overdosed used drugs alone and 45 per cent of them had reported pain-related issues.
It said 63 per cent of the deaths occurred in homes, but that number shot to 74 per cent in the Fraser Health authority, the largest of the six health regions that serve the province.
The report says most of those who died were men between the ages of 30 and 49 but women were more likely to use injection as a way to consume drugs versus smoking, snorting or ingesting them.
It says illicit fentanyl was the most commonly detected street drug, especially in deaths among those aged 15 to 29.
The service has recorded over 3,400 deaths since January 2016 but says the number of overdose fatalities decreased by 27 per cent this August compared with July.
