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Role of Alcohol in Unnatural Deaths: A Study of All Deaths in Sweden
Author(s) -
Sjögren Harmeet,
Eriksson Anders,
Ahlm Kristin
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2000.tb04649.x
Subject(s) - medicine , alcohol , homicide , cause of death , population , poison control , alcohol intoxication , blood alcohol , injury prevention , autopsy , demography , medical emergency , environmental health , biology , disease , biochemistry , sociology
Background: Most previous research has concentrated on the role of alcohol in one type of unnatural death in a selected population, but the present objective was to investigate the role of alcohol in all unnatural deaths (autopsied and not autopsied). Methods: All cases of unnatural death from 1992 through 1996 in Sweden were analyzed ( n = 23,132). Death was attributed at least in part to alcohol if the deceased was a “known alcoholic”; if the underlying or contributing cause of death was alcohol‐related; if the deceased had an alcohol‐related inpatient diagnosis during the 3‐year period prior to death; or if the deceased tested positive for blood alcohol. Results: Just over 28% of the unnatural deaths could be associated with alcohol; the association with alcohol was more than twice as common in deaths of males (35%) as in females (16%). When only autopsied cases or only blood‐tested cases were taken as the denominators, 38% and 44%, respectively, of the deaths were associated with alcohol. Alcohol involvement also was twice as common in intentional deaths (36%) as in unintentional deaths (18%). The intoxication group (78%) had the highest fraction of deaths that could be associated with alcohol, followed by the undetermined group (62%), homicide (49%), fire (41%), suicide (35%), asphyxia (29%), traffic (18%) and fall (9%) groups. In the 20‐ to 59‐year age group, alcohol involvement was found in 51% of the males and 35% of the females (47% for males and females combined). Conclusions: The present estimates are conservative; alcohol involvement in unnatural deaths probably is even higher, up to 44% of the total. The present estimation is an important step in policy‐making to lower the number of alcohol‐related deaths in Sweden.