Shane Darke from the University of New South Wales and colleagues from Australia and the UK conducted a retrospective study and found that most drownings of adults in bathtubs are due to the use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol. The analysis included data from the Australian National Forensic Information System from January 2015 to November 2024. Conclusions about the cause of death were based on police, toxicology and forensic reports. The results of the analysis are published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review.
During the observation period, 195 people over 15 years of age (up to 98 years, average 54.9 years; 65.1 percent women) drowned in regular and hot tubs. 55.4 percent of such deaths were recognized as accidental, 37.4 percent - intentional (suicide). In 57.9 percent of cases, experts concluded that the cause of death (or one of the causes) was the use of psychoactive substances. In total, such substances were found in the blood of 84.9 percent of the deceased, most often these were sedatives and hypnotics (43.0 percent) and alcohol (41.9 percent; average concentration 1.76 grams per liter). In 16.9 percent of cases, signs of acute medical conditions such as seizures or cardiovascular events were detected, in 8.7 percent - slips or falls. The authors of the work conclude that it is necessary to widely inform the population about the dangers of using psychoactive substances before taking a bath, similar to swimming in pools and open water.
