title: Drinking history and risk of fatal injury: comparison among specific injury causes.
abstract: The effect of acute alcohol use on injury risk is well documented, but the relationship between drinking history and fatal injury has not been adequately studied. The authors performed a case-control analysis to explore the association between drinking history and specific causes of fatal injury. Cases (n=5549) were persons who died from injury, selected from the 1993 National Mortality Followback Survey (NMFS); controls (n=42,698) were a representative sample of the general population, selected from the 1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey (NLAES). Current drinkers comprised 59% of the cases compared with 44% of the controls. After adjustment for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, marital status, employment, and drug use, the odds ratio (OR) of dying from drowning for current drinkers was 3.48 (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.94, 6.25), the highest among all causes of injury studied. The lowest adjusted odds ratio associated with current drinking was for falls (OR=1.38; 95% CI=1.05, 1.82). Being a current drinker increased the risk of dying from suicide more for females (OR=4.04; 95% CI=1.64, 9.93) than for males (OR=1.45; 95% CI=1.20, 1.74). The authors conclude that drinking history is associated with a significantly increased risk of all types of fatal injury.
authors.affiliation: Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205-1996, USA. lhchen@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Li-Hui
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Susan P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Guohua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000401:mortality*