title: Average daily alcohol consumption during adult life among decedents with and without cirrhosis: the 1986 National Mortality Followback Survey.
abstract: The relationship of alcohol consumption and cirrhosis mortality was examined by sampling 1% of deaths in the U.S. using the 1986 National Mortality Followback Survey. Quantity and frequency of decedent's alcohol consumption was obtained from next of kin through mailed questionnaire. The percentage of decedents with cirrhosis increased sharply with the increasing number of drinks per day. Three drinks per day was associated with a significantly higher percentage of cirrhosis deaths compared with lifetime abstainers for both whites and blacks. Although blacks had a significantly higher percentage of abstainers than whites, of those persons who were reported to drink every day, blacks were more likely to be heavier drinkers (5 or more drinks per day). Blacks did not have a higher risk of cirrhosis mortality than whites for each drinking category. Although Native Americans were oversampled, the number of deaths was too small for statistical comparisons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Parrish
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Dufour
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Stinson
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Harford
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000401:mortality*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000401:mortality; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008104:Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis