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Alcohol‐Related Mortality Risk in Natural and Non‐Natural Death Cases
Author(s) -
Törő Klára,
Dunay György,
Róna Kálmán,
Klausz Gabriella,
Fehér Szilvia
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2009.01162.x
Subject(s) - homicide , natural death , blood alcohol , demography , medicine , mortality rate , alcohol , poison control , injury prevention , suicide prevention , statistical analysis , occupational safety and health , medical emergency , surgery , biology , statistics , pathology , biochemistry , mathematics , sociology
Determination of the associations between alcohol influence and sudden natural death represents challenges for medicolegal investigations. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of alcohol influence in medicolegal autopsies. In our study of natural and non‐natural deaths cases (5496 total: 4045 males, 1451 females) were examined. Blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) were detected by headspace gas chromatographic method. We investigated the alcohol‐related mortality using hierarchical log‐linear statistical models. Severe BACs were detected among suicidal victims in the oldest age group (>65 years) (In F = 0.442) and among the homicide victims between the age of 40–65 years (In F = 0.234). Correlations we found between manner‐of‐death and sex suggested that the rate of males in accidents (ln F = 0.140) and the rate of females in homicides (ln F = 0.193) were higher. It was concluded that the accurate statistical mortality database may provide a huge support for the determination of alcohol effects on human health and mortality.