Mortality for alcohol-related harm by country of birth in Scotland, 2000-2004: potential lessons for prevention.
OBJECTIVE
Deaths caused by alcohol have increased in the UK, and Scotland in particular, but the change in the rates of alcohol-related deaths for migrants are uncertain, and could yield insights for the general population.


METHODS
Alcohol-related mortality in immigrants among Scotland's residents was assessed using 2001 census data and mortality data from 2000 to 2004.


RESULTS
Mortality from direct alcohol-related causes accounted for nearly 1500 deaths per year in Scotland. Age-standardized mortality ratios were comparatively low for people born in Pakistan, other parts of the UK (largely England and Wales) and those from elsewhere in the world.


CONCLUSIONS
Scotland's propensity to alcohol-related deaths is not shared by all its residents. Studying such variations in more depth could yield lessons for prevention.
Bhala
Neeraj
N
Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit (CTSU), Roosevelt Way, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. neeraj.bhala@ctsu.ox.ac.uk
Fischbacher
Colin
C
Bhopal
Raj
R
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D007494:Ireland / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D009660:Northern Ireland / Q000208:ethnology; D010154:Pakistan / Q000208:ethnology; D012606:Scotland / Q000208:ethnology