Alcohol and fatal injuries: temporal patterns.
Although alcohol use has been established as a risk factor for injuries associated with motor vehicle crashes, the role of alcohol for other unintentional and intentional injuries is less defined. A review of 102,401 deaths investigated by North Carolina medical examiners in the period 1973-1983 characterized the temporal patterns of ethyl alcohol in unintentional injury fatalities, suicides, homicides, and persons who died of natural or unknown causes. Victims of homicides (85.9%) and suicides (77.7%) were tested for alcohol more frequently than were fatalities resulting from unintentional injury (67.5%) or natural causes (61.6%). Alcohol was present in 62.8% of homicide victims, 48.6% of unintentional injury fatalities, 35.3% of suicides, and 14.4% of deaths from natural causes. The percentage of alcohol-associated deaths for each manner of death showed little yearly or seasonal variation. Alcohol was most frequently detected in persons fatally injured on the weekend and from 6 PM to 6 AM. This study highlights the magnitude of alcohol's role in intentional and unintentional injuries, especially for persons injured at night and on weekends.
Smith
S M
SM
Division of Surveillance and Epidemiologic Studies, Centers for Disease Control, Alanta, GA 30333.
Goodman
R A
RA
Thacker
S B
SB
Burton
A H
AH
Parsons
J E
JE
Hudson
P
P
D000059:Accidents / Q000401:mortality*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D002423:Cause of Death; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina; D013405:Suicide; D013997:Time Factors; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality*
D000431:Ethanol