Age and mortality among white male problem drinkers.
OBJECTIVE
This study is designed to determine the relative risk of mortality for white male problem drinkers compared to white males in the general population, and to identify any variation in relative risk of problem drinking in three age groups (18-29, 30-49 and 50-79 years).


METHODS
The research design is prospective, using historical administrative datasets from treatment programs in conjunction with vital records datasets.


METHODS
Participants include all white men aged 18-79 treated for alcohol-related problems in community mental health substance abuse programs in Vermont during 1991. The treatment group includes 1853 service recipients; the comparison group includes 196,443 adult white male residents of Vermont.


METHODS
Measurement of mortality rates for problem drinkers was based on probabilistic determination of overlap between treatment and vital record datasets.


RESULTS
Mortality for problem drinkers is greater than the general population in all three age groups. The estimated relative risk of mortality in the oldest age group was lower than the other groups, but substantially higher than found in recently published research. The estimated relative risk of mortality in the youngest age group, which has rarely been addressed in previous research, was higher than the relative risk in the middle age group.


CONCLUSIONS
The application of a public health research model in which problem drinkers are compared to the general population has potential to inform public policy. In this case, the public health approach identified an elevated risk of mortality associated with problem drinking among older adults that had not been evident in the previous research.
Banks
S M
SM
Bristol Observatory, Waterbury, VT, USA.
Pandiani
J A
JA
Schacht
L M
LM
Gauvin
L M
LM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000401:mortality*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000401:mortality*; D016208:Databases, Factual; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D014707:Vermont / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*