title: Blood Alcohol Concentrations in Suicide and Motor Vehicle Crash Decedents Ages 18 to 54.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Using postmortem data, we examined the hypotheses that high (and very high) blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) are more common among motor vehicle crash decedents (MVCs) than among suicide decedents, whereas low alcohol levels are more common among suicides.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined BAC in 224 suicide decedents and 166 MVCs ages 18 to 54 in the state of New Mexico in 2012. Comparisons between the groups were made based on differing BAC levels using 0.080 g/dl categories including low (0.001 to 0.079 g/dl), high (0.080 to 0.159 g/dl), and very high BAC (≥0.160 g/dl), and based on 0.100 g/dl categories including low (0.001 to 0.099 g/dl), high (0.100 to 0.199 g/dl), and very high BAC (≥0.200 g/dl), with these groups compared with a no-alcohol reference (0.000 g/dl) in separate analyses. Multivariate logistic regressions compared suicides with MVCs that adjusted for age, sex, and race/ethnicity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Support for the hypothesis that suicides are more likely to have a low BAC level was supported in the analysis using the 0.100 g/dl categorizations. Neither analysis supported the hypothesis that MVCs are more likely to have high (or very high) BACs compared with suicides. Among both injury groups with positive BACs, low BACs were least common.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low BAC levels may be more likely to be observed among suicides compared with MVCs, a possible reflection of the more varied role that alcohol plays in suicide compared with MVC. Nonetheless, high (and very high) BAC is the predominant scenario in both suicides and MVCs with positive BAC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York.|VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Canandaigua VA Medical Center, Canandaigua, New York.
authors.forename: Kenneth R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Conner
authors.affiliation: New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lathrop
authors.affiliation: Prevention Research Center, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Oakland, California.
authors.forename: Raul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Caetano
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Silenzio
authors.affiliation: New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
authors.forename: Kurt B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Nolte
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000067401:Blood Alcohol Content; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018986:Motor Vehicles; D009516:New Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D013405:Suicide; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000067401:Blood Alcohol Content
keywords: Blood Alcohol Concentration; Motor Vehicle Crash; Suicide