Table 3 Key methodological features of each included (record-linkage study)

Alex et al. [31]

Not stated

42 days after release

Probabilistic record linkage

All-cause mortality. No ICD codes

Release records. Bureau of Vital Statistics records. Electronic health records

Andersson et al. [32]

Not stated

Prison contact during year prior to death

Personal identification number linkage

Prison contact during year before death. Death by intoxication. ICD codes

Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine, regional health care services. Municipal social services. National Prison and Probation Service

Barry et al. [33]

None stated

Most recent prison release until death or study completion

Not stated

Death by drug overdose. ICD-10 codes

Veterans Affairs National Patient Care Database. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data (includes prison admission/release dates). Veterans Affairs Suicide Prevention Applications Network. Veterans Affairs National Suicide Data Repository (SDR) (includes cause-specific death information)

Binswanger 2011 et al. [34]

Person-time at risk in the community; for persons with repeated incarcerations during the study period, the time during a subsequent incarceration was excluded, whereas the time between the next release and death, another incarceration, or the end of the study was included

For early deaths, defined as within 30 days of release from prison

Probabilistic score

All-cause mortality, overdose mortality and early (within 30 days of release) mortality. No ICD codes

Department of Corrections’ records. National Death Index

Binswanger 2013 et al. [35]

The time at risk included time after release and excluded time in prison during any subsequent incarcerations

First month, months 2 to 12, and subsequent months after release

Identities were linked probabilistically

All-cause mortality, 11 causes of death and their subcauses, substance related causes, and the most common substance combinations. ICD-10 codes

Administrative records of the Washington State Department of Corrections. National Death Index

Binswanger 2016 et al. [36]

The index release was that closest to death

Not stated

Matched personal identifiers

All-cause mortality and overdose mortality. No ICD codes

Washington State Department of Corrections. National Death Index

Binswanger 2016 et al. [18]

Excluded data on subsequent person-years in custody for people who were reincarcerated after their first release and deaths in custody

0–14 days, 15–90 days, 91–180 days, > 180 days and entire observation period after each release

Linked personal identifiers probabilistically

Infectious disease–related mortality. ICD-10 codes

Retrospective cohort studies of people released from prison in Queensland and Washington State. National death index

Binswanger 2020 et al. [37]

Not stated

Month after prison, parole, and probation release

Linked identifiers

Overdose mortality. ICD-10 codes

Michigan Department of Corrections administrative databases. National Death Index (NDI)-Plus

Bird 2015 et al. [38]

Calculated person-days at liberty in the first 12 weeks after a qualifying release from the day of release up to the earliest of: date of death, date of re-incarceration for at least 14 days or 12 weeks after the qualifying release date

Risk of DRD in the 12 weeks following release; percentage of these DRDs which occurred during the first 14 days

Not stated

First 2 weeks and 12-week DRD totals. ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes

Linked prisoner-mortality database held at Information Services Division

Bird 2016 et al. [39]

Most recent prison release date

4-week after release

Not stated

Opioid-related deaths (ORDs). No ICD codes

National Records of Scotland official statistics on the number of DRDs. Electronically held Scottish prisoner and morbidity records: Scotland’s Privacy Access Committee, Scottish Prison Service and Disclosure Scotland clearances

Brinkley-Rubinstein 2018 et al. [40]

Not stated

Incarcerated in the year before death

Linked deterministically

Fatal overdose. Fentanyl-related overdose deaths. No ICD codes

RI Office of the Medical Examiner on overdose deaths. Records from RI Department of Corrections

Brinkley-Rubinstein 2019 et al. [20]

Person-time was censored at reincarceration. Person-time was calculated from the day of release from prison until death, reincarceration, or the end of 2016

2 weeks, 1 year and complete follow-up after release

Linkage using last and first names, date of birth, and sex

Opioid overdose death. ICD-10 codes

North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS). North Carolina death records

Bukten et al. [41]

The time at risk includes only time outside prison; both for individuals with one or repeated incarcerations in the study period, all the time incarcerated was excluded

First week, second week, 3–4 weeks and 2–6 months after release and by three different time intervals of release (2000–04, 2005–09, 2010–14)

Personal identification numbers

All-cause and cause-specific mortality. ICD-10 codes

Norwegian prison registry. Norwegian Cause of Death Registry

Calcaterra et al. [42]

For persons with repeated incarcerations during the study period, the time during a subsequent incarceration was excluded, whereas the time between the next release and death, another incarceration, or the end of the study was included

2-week intervals, weeks 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8 and all weeks after release

Probabilistic score

Causes-of-death 1) non-cocaine psychostimulants 2) cocaine only and 3) all psychostimulants. ICD-10 codes

Washington State Department of Corrections. National Death Index

Chang et al. [27]

Not stated

Not stated

Unique personal identification numbers

All-cause and external-cause mortality. ICD-10 codes

National Crime Register. National Patient Register, inpatient psychiatric hospital admissions, and outpatient care. Cause of Death Register. Longitudinal Integration Database for Health Insurance and Labour Market Studies. Multi-Generation Register

Degenhardt et al. [43]

Included all eligible prison releases. Person-years at risk accrued during time out of prison (time incarcerated was excluded)

First day, first week, first 2 weeks, month and year following release

Probabilistic linkage

Specific causes of death included accidental drug-induced deaths. ICD-10 codes

Pharmaceutical Drugs of Addiction System (PHDAS). The Reoffending Database (ROD) Department of Corrective Services. National Death Index

Forsyth 2014 et al. [44]

Person-time was calculated from every release during follow-up until death, re-incarceration or the end of study follow-up. Deaths in custody were excluded

Up to 4 weeks, after 4 weeks up to 6 months, after 6 months up to 1 year, all follow-up to 1 year and more than 1 year after a release

Linked probabilistically

Alcohol-related, drug-related, substance-related i.e. drug or alcohol cause of death. ICD-9 and 10 codes

Incarceration data from Corrective Services. National Death Index

Forsyth 2018 et al. [45]

Person-time starting from the date of the first release after baseline interview and censored on 31 May 2013 or death, with any time in prison removed from follow-up time at risk

Not stated

Probabilistic linkage

Drug-related deaths and alcohol and other drug-related deaths. ICD-10 codes

Baseline survey. Prison medical records. Community health records. Correctional records. National Death Index

Gan et al. [46]

Cumulative duration of incarcerations during the follow‐up period was excluded from person‐time of follow‐up

3‐year follow‐up period

Deterministic and probabilistic linkage

Overdose‐related death. ICD-9 or ICD-10 codes

Provincial incarceration records. Linked administrative health data, BC Coroners Service and Vital Statistics Agency. Provincial health insurance data

Gjersing et al. [47]

Not stated

Release up to 6 months before death

For matching purposes, the data included full name, personal identification number, date of birth, date of death, postal code for region of death, residential postal code and whether the person had a post-mortem examination

Drug-induced deaths. No ICD codes

National Cause of Death Registry. Data on toxicology from the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Oslo. Norwegian Correctional Services. Social and health services. Public social services

Green et al. [48]

Not stated

Recently incarcerated defined as death within 12 months of release

Not stated

Overdose death attributed to fentanyl. No ICD codes

Office of State Medical Examiners for deaths. Department of Corrections (RIDOC)

Groot et al. [49]

Not stated

Released within the year before death

Matching names and dates of birth

Drug toxicity deaths. No ICD codes

Deaths from Office of the Chief Coroner. Incarceration records from Correctional Services, both part of the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services

Haas et al. [19]

Excluded those reincarcerated within five days of release. Any outcomes occurring after reincarceration were not included in analysis

After release until fatal overdose, reincarcerated or study end date (31 December 2018)

Matching primarily on name and date of birth, supplemented with data on race/ethnicity when available

Fatal and non-fatal opioid overdose. No ICD codes

Department of Correction (DoC) records. Deaths from the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME)

Hacker et al. [50]

Defined incarceration as ≥ 1 episode of incarceration ever and in the year before death

Incarceration in the year before death

Matching algorithm, including first and last name, date of birth, social security number, and demographic information

Opioid-related overdose death

Allegheny County Medical Examiner autopsy data. Allegheny County Department of Human Services (ACDHS) Data Warehouse

Hakansson et al. [51]

No access to re-incarcerations and releases

Not stated

Not stated

Causes of death. ICD-10 codes

Database of criminal justice clients with substance use problems. National Causes of Death Register

Huang et al. [22]

In repeat incarcerations during the study period, used the date of release from the last incarceration for the starting point to measure the period from prison release to death

First week after release compared to following 4 weeks after release

Unique ID linkage

All-cause mortality and overdose mortality. ICD-9 codes

National Death Registry. Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) database

Kinner et al. [30]

The date of first release from custody was determined; follow-up periods of 4 weeks and 1 year were used regardless of reimprisonment within these time frames

Four weeks and 1 year

Not stated

Cause of death by drug-related, natural and all other causes. ICD-9 and 10 codes

Australian Bureau of Statistics. Data from two recent Australian record-linkage studies conducted in Western Australia and New South Wales were used. WA cohort: all prisoners released from custody. WA Registrar General’s record of deaths. NSW cohort: all prisoners released from custody. National Death Index

Kouyoumdjian et al. [52]

Not stated

Not stated

Deterministic linkage and probabilistic linkage

Cause of death, deaths due to specific preventable diseases of interest, and certain risk factors. ICD-9 codes

Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Registered Persons Database. Mortality data Registrar General Death database

Krawczyk et al. [26]

Not stated

Not stated

Probabilistic matching

Opioid overdose death. No ICD codes for death

Maryland statewide criminal justice records. All-payer hospitalization database. Overdose death records

Larochelle et al. [53]

Not stated

Past 12 months, 0–3 months, 4–12 months and not 0–3 months, 13–24 months and not 0–12 months, 25–36 months and not 0–24 months

Multistage deterministic linkage

Opioid overdose death. No ICD codes

APCD. Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (RVRS). Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP). Acute Care Hospital Case Mix (Case Mix). Massachusetts Ambulance Trip Record Information System (MATRIS). Bureau of Substance Addiction Services’ (BSAS) licensed treatment encounters. Department of Corrections (DOC) and Houses of Corrections (HOC)

Lim et al. [54]

Person-years defined as the number of days during which they were not incarcerated from 2001–2005, including days between each discharge and the subsequent incarceration

1–2 weeks, 3–4 weeks, 5–6 weeks, 7–8 weeks, ≥ 9 weeks after release

Probabilistic matching

Underlying cause of death, drug-related death. ICD-10 codes

Jail records. Death and single-adult homeless registries

Loeliger et al. [55]

Incorporated data across multiple incarcerations during follow-up

Not stated

Not stated

All-cause mortality and drug overdose. ICD-10 codes

Linked pharmacy, custodial, death, case management, and HIV surveillance data from Connecticut Departments of Corrections and Public Health

Marsden et al. [28]

Participants could be recruited on each occasion of incarceration during the recruitment period

First year of release: 1–28 days, 29–121 days and 122–365 days

Not stated

All-cause mortality and drug-related poisoning deaths. ICD-10 codes

Prison National Offender Management Information Service (P-NOMIS). Prison IDTS healthcare provider. Justice Statistics Analytical Services (JSAS database). Office for National Statistics, national deaths register, accessed from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC). English National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS)

Pizzicato et al. [56]

For multiple incarcerations, the time between subsequent incarcerations was excluded from person time at risk

0–2 weeks, 3–4 weeks and ≥ 5 weeks after release

Matched on name, date of birth, and gender

All-cause, overdose, and non-overdose mortality. No ICD codes

Incarceration records. Philadelphia Department of Prisons (PDP). Medical Examiner’s Office and death certificate records. Death records from the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Bureau of Vital Records

Ranapurwala et al. [21]

For multiple incarcerations, excluded time in prison

2 weeks, 1 year and complete follow-up after release

Linked using last and first names, date of birth, and sex

Cause of death, opioid overdose death. ICD-10 codes

Prison release data from the NC Department of Public Safety. NC death records from the NC Division of Public Health

Rosen et al. [57]

Release from index incarceration to death, another incarceration or December 31, 201 (which ever occurred first)

Not stated. Until death, censored by reincarceration or study end

Deterministic matching algorithms with probabilistic matching routines

Cause of death. ICD-10 code

Records from the prison system. Death records from the NC State Center for Health Statistics

Saloner et al. [29]

Not stated

Not stated. Released in 2015 and outcomes occurring in 2016

Probabilistic matching

Fatal opioid overdose. ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes nonfatal opioid overdose

All-payer hospital discharges. Prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP). Public-sector specialty behavioral treatment criminal justice records

Spaulding 2011 et al. [23]

Person-time included all time (between incarcerations and following the final incarceration) outside of prison during the study period

0– < 1 month, 1– < 6 months, and 6–12 months after released

Matched on name, Social Security number, age, home address, and known aliases

Cause-specific mortality. No ICD codes

Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC). Georgia Death Registry

Spaulding 2015 et al. [24]

Person-years of follow-up for the total cohort, as well as for each period of observation inside and outside prison. Inside prison considered either during the index incarceration or subsequent reincarceration

In prison (either during the index incarceration or subsequent reincarceration) and during first 2 weeks, second 2 weeks and more than 1 month after released

Probabilistic algorithms

Mortality from liver disease HIV and overdose. ICD-9 or ICD-10 codes

Georgia Department of Corrections Planning and Strategic Management Section. Georgia Death Registry, National Death Index

Spittal 2014 et al. [58]

For repeated incarcerations, subsequent time in prison was excluded

First six months and complete follow-up after release

Probabilistic method and manual review

Cause-specific mortality and drug-related deaths. ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes

Queensland Corrective Services (QCS). National Death Index

Spittal 2019 et al. [59]

Not stated

Not stated

Probabilistic matching and clerical review

Death from external causes, defined as drug overdose, suicide, transport accidents or violence. ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes

Queensland Corrective Services (QCS), Queensland Health. National Death Index

Van Dooren et al. [60]

For subsequent incarcerations, time in prison was deducted from time at risk and deaths in prison were excluded

Censored at death or 365 days after release

Probabilistic matching

Drug‐related deaths, other substance abuse and opioid‐related deaths. ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes

Correctional facilities data. Australian Bureau of Statistics

Victor et al. [25]

Coded each reincarceration between the initial 2017 release date and the 2 years following the initial release date as an ‘additional post-release booking’ to determine the potential effect of re-booking(s) on the hazard rate

First 2 weeks, up to 1 year and 2 years after released

Probabilistic linkage

Accidental fatal overdose. No ICD codes

Administrative records from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO). Marion County Coroner’s Office (MCCO)

Webb et al. [61]

Not stated

Contact with the criminal justice system from 1 January 1980. Controls were selected during 1994–2006

Unique Central Person Registration number

Cause-specific mortality including self-poisoning by narcotics & hallucinogens. ICD-10 codes

National Causes of Death Register. National Criminal Register. Psychiatric Central Research Register. Central Population Register and the Integrated Database for Labour Market Research (IDA). IDA database

Wortzel et al. [62]

Person-time at risk in the community excluded time in prison during subsequent incarcerations

Not stated

Matched by first name, last name, sex, birth date (month, day, and year, within one year), and eight of the nine digits in the social security number

All-cause deaths. Deaths from injury by self or others, medical deaths, suicide, alcohol or drug overdose, homicide, cardiovascular disease and cancer. ICD-10 codes

Washington State DOC. Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA) database