Deaths Involving Gabapentin and Pregabalin, Scotland, 2000–2024: A Descriptive Account

Corkery, John Martin; Guirguis, Amira; Schifano, Fabrizio

doi:10.53941/cna.2026.100007

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Deaths Involving Gabapentin and Pregabalin, Scotland, 2000–2024: A Descriptive Account

John Martin Corkery

, Amira Guirguis

, Fabrizio Schifano

Clinical Neuropsychopharmacology and Addiction, Volume: 2, Issue: 2, Start page: 7

Swansea University Author: Amira Guirguis

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DOI (Published version): 10.53941/cna.2026.100007

Abstract

Gabapentin and pregabalin, while prescribed for conditions like neuropathic pain and epilepsy, have shown increasing misuse, raising concerns about their potential for harm, especially with other central nervous system (CNS) depressants. This study describes the characteristics of deaths associated...

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Published in:	Clinical Neuropsychopharmacology and Addiction
ISSN:	3083-5070
Published:	Scilight Press Pty Ltd 2026
Online Access:	Check full text
URI:	https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71713

first_indexed	2026-04-03T16:01:49Z
last_indexed	2026-05-08T06:56:48Z
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spelling	2026-05-07T10:34:47.5819453 v2 71713 2026-04-03 Deaths Involving Gabapentin and Pregabalin, Scotland, 2000–2024: A Descriptive Account b49270b9a0d580cf4f31f9a1b6c93f87 0000-0001-8255-0660 Amira Guirguis Amira Guirguis true false 2026-04-03 MEDS Gabapentin and pregabalin, while prescribed for conditions like neuropathic pain and epilepsy, have shown increasing misuse, raising concerns about their potential for harm, especially with other central nervous system (CNS) depressants. This study describes the characteristics of deaths associated with gabapentin and/or pregabalin in Scotland from 2000 to 2024, using data provided by the National Records of Scotland. The analysis included socio-demographics, drugs implicated, and cause and manner of death. Out of 3813 deaths where gabapentin or pregabalin was listed in the Poison field, the number of deaths increased from 2008 to 2019, with a slight recovery in 2023 after falls in 2020 and 2021. The majority (65.6%) of deaths involved males, and the mean age at death was 43.0 years. Polypharmacy was common, with 98.9% of cases involving at least one other drug, typically opioids or benzodiazepines. Accidental poisoning was the most common cause of death (90.7%), with 4.7% attributed to suicide. There was no death involving a gabapentinoid on its own. Scottish trends in prescribing and deaths align with concerns about rising gabapentinoid misuse and associated harms across the United Kingdom. The findings underscore the risk of polypharmacy, particularly with CNS depressants, and highlight the need for cautious prescribing and greater awareness of the dangers of co-consumption. Journal Article Clinical Neuropsychopharmacology and Addiction 2 2 7 Scilight Press Pty Ltd 3083-5070 gabapentin; pregabalin; deaths; Scotland; characteristics 21 4 2026 2026-04-21 10.53941/cna.2026.100007 COLLEGE NANME Medical School COLLEGE CODE MEDS Swansea University Other Some aspects of this paper were supported in part by a grant of the European Commission (Drug Prevention and Information Programme 2014-16; contract no. JUST/2013/DPIP/AG/4823; EU-MADNESS project). 2026-05-07T10:34:47.5819453 2026-04-03T14:45:16.8188525 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Swansea University Medical School - Pharmacy John Martin Corkery 0000-0002-3849-817x 1 Amira Guirguis 0000-0001-8255-0660 2 Fabrizio Schifano 0000-0002-4178-5401 3 71713__36672__1f8917aad6a24485a2d10ae73737b1dc.pdf 71713.VOR.pdf 2026-05-07T10:28:44.1639852 Output 886971 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title	Deaths Involving Gabapentin and Pregabalin, Scotland, 2000–2024: A Descriptive Account
spellingShingle	Deaths Involving Gabapentin and Pregabalin, Scotland, 2000–2024: A Descriptive Account Amira Guirguis
title_short	Deaths Involving Gabapentin and Pregabalin, Scotland, 2000–2024: A Descriptive Account
title_full	Deaths Involving Gabapentin and Pregabalin, Scotland, 2000–2024: A Descriptive Account
title_fullStr	Deaths Involving Gabapentin and Pregabalin, Scotland, 2000–2024: A Descriptive Account
title_full_unstemmed	Deaths Involving Gabapentin and Pregabalin, Scotland, 2000–2024: A Descriptive Account
title_sort	Deaths Involving Gabapentin and Pregabalin, Scotland, 2000–2024: A Descriptive Account
author_id_str_mv	b49270b9a0d580cf4f31f9a1b6c93f87
author_id_fullname_str_mv	b49270b9a0d580cf4f31f9a1b6c93f87_***_Amira Guirguis
author	Amira Guirguis
author2	John Martin Corkery Amira Guirguis Fabrizio Schifano
format	Journal article
container_title	Clinical Neuropsychopharmacology and Addiction
container_volume	2
container_issue	2
container_start_page	7
publishDate	2026
institution	Swansea University
issn	3083-5070
doi_str_mv	10.53941/cna.2026.100007
publisher	Scilight Press Pty Ltd
college_str	Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
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description	Gabapentin and pregabalin, while prescribed for conditions like neuropathic pain and epilepsy, have shown increasing misuse, raising concerns about their potential for harm, especially with other central nervous system (CNS) depressants. This study describes the characteristics of deaths associated with gabapentin and/or pregabalin in Scotland from 2000 to 2024, using data provided by the National Records of Scotland. The analysis included socio-demographics, drugs implicated, and cause and manner of death. Out of 3813 deaths where gabapentin or pregabalin was listed in the Poison field, the number of deaths increased from 2008 to 2019, with a slight recovery in 2023 after falls in 2020 and 2021. The majority (65.6%) of deaths involved males, and the mean age at death was 43.0 years. Polypharmacy was common, with 98.9% of cases involving at least one other drug, typically opioids or benzodiazepines. Accidental poisoning was the most common cause of death (90.7%), with 4.7% attributed to suicide. There was no death involving a gabapentinoid on its own. Scottish trends in prescribing and deaths align with concerns about rising gabapentinoid misuse and associated harms across the United Kingdom. The findings underscore the risk of polypharmacy, particularly with CNS depressants, and highlight the need for cautious prescribing and greater awareness of the dangers of co-consumption.
published_date	2026-04-21T06:29:50Z
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Deaths Involving Gabapentin and Pregabalin, Scotland, 2000–2024: A Descriptive Account

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