A capture-recapture study of the prevalence and implications of opiate use in Dublin

BACKGROUND: To date there have been no studies estimating the hidden prevalence of opiate use in Dublin. METHODS: A multisource enumeration followed by the application of the capture-recapture method with log-linear modelling including age and gender stratification to remove heterogeneity was implemented to provide an estimate of the unknown size of the opiate-using population. Two medical and one legal data sources were used. RESULTS: It was found that the ratio of known to unknown opiate users was 1:1.15 with a total of 13,460 (95% CI: 12,037-15,306) users estimated in Dublin in 1996. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study have important ramifications for service delivery.