Age, alcohol and violent death: a postmortem study.
A detailed examination of the files of the medical examiner's office of Erie County, New York, for 1973-1983 inclusive was conducted with respect to cause of death, age of victim and presence of alcohol in the blood at time of death. In 48.6% of the traffic accidents the victim had been drinking compared with 38.9% miscellaneous accidents (e.g., drowning, falling), 45.2% homicides and 35.4% suicides. Among those aged 15-19, 42.7% of these violent deaths were alcohol related compared with 51.1% of those aged 20-24, 48.6% of those 25-34, 49.1% of those 35-44 and 47.2% of those 45-54. The data indicate that alcohol is involved to a considerable extent in all major categories of violent death for all age cohorts, especially for traffic accident victims aged 35 and under.
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000473:pathology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000473:pathology*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D013405:Suicide; D014754:Violence; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000473:pathology
D000431:Ethanol