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A Ratio Estimation Method for Determining the Prevalence of Cocaine Use

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Michael Gossop ,
John Strang ,
Paul Griffiths ,
Beverly Powis  and
Colin Taylor
Michael Gossop*
Affiliation:
Drug Transitions Study, National Addiction Centre, Maudsley Hospital, London SE5 8AF
John Strang
Affiliation:
Drug Transitions Study, National Addiction Centre, Maudsley Hospital, London SE5 8AF
Paul Griffiths
Affiliation:
Drug Transitions Study, National Addiction Centre, Maudsley Hospital, London SE5 8AF
Beverly Powis
Affiliation:
Drug Transitions Study, National Addiction Centre, Maudsley Hospital, London SE5 8AF
Colin Taylor
Affiliation:
Drug Transitions Study, National Addiction Centre, Maudsley Hospital, London SE5 8AF
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

This paper presents an approach to estimating the prevalence of cocaine use, based upon a new ratio estimation technique. This method can be applied to random samples of overlapping populations for which no sampling frames exist. When the ratio estimation method is applied to the two study samples (drawn from populations of people using cocaine and people using heroin) the ratio of cocaine users to heroin users (C/H) was 1.55, with a 95% confidence interval of ±0.48. Such estimates should be applied with caution. However, if used with reference to national estimates of about 75 000 heroin users, application of the present estimate suggests that there may be about 116 000 cocaine users in the UK.

Type
Short Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 164 , Issue 5 , May 1994 , pp. 676 - 679
Copyright
Copyright © 1994 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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