Defining alcohol-related fatal medical conditions for social-cost studies in western societies: an update of the epidemiological evidence.
OBJECTIVE
To elaborate a state-of-the-art list of alcohol-related fatal medical conditions for future social-cost studies in Western societies.


METHODS
Three major social-cost studies were compared with regard to their respective section on fatal health effects attributable to long-term as well as short-term use of alcohol. On discordant conditions, a systematic literature search was conducted in the Medline and ETOH databases.


RESULTS
There is no consensus between social-cost studies with respect to alcohol-related causes of mortality. Based on the recent epidemiological evidence on alcohol and health, this paper suggests an up-to-date list of fatal medical conditions for which the causal relationship has been established with sufficient scientific evidence. A further investigation is needed, however, to reestimate relative risks by meta-analysis.


CONCLUSIONS
Evaluating new epidemiological evidence regularly is necessary for the purpose of up-to-date social-cost studies.
Gutjahr
E
E
Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems, Lausanne.
Gmel
G
G
D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology