title: Alcohol dependence, mortality, and chronic health conditions in a rural population in Korea.
abstract: To determine the effects of excessive drinking and alcohol dependency on mortality and chronic health problems in a rural community in South Korea, this study represents a nested case-control study. In 1998, we conducted the Alcohol Dependence Survey (ADS), a population survey of a village in Korea. To measure the effects of alcohol on chronic health conditions and mortality over time, in 2004, we identified 290 adults from the ADS sample (N=1,058) for follow-up. Of those selected, 145 were adults who had alcohol problems, either alcohol dependence as assessed in the ADS by the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (N=59), or excessive drinking without dependency (N=86). Further 145 nondrinkers were identified, matching those with alcohol problems in age and sex. We revisited the village in 2004 and completed personal interviews with them. In multivariate logistic regressions, the rates of mortality and morbidity of chronic health conditions were three times greater for alcohol dependents compared with the rate for nondrinkers. Importantly, however, excessive drinking without dependency was not associated with the rates of either mortality or morbidity. Future investigations would benefit by attending more specifically to measures for alcohol dependence as well as measures for alcohol consumption.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea. mchorock@yonsei.kr
authors.forename: Seongho
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Noh
authors.forename: Jongho
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Joung-Sook
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Tae-Hui
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012424:Rural Population; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology