title: Unnatural and Violent Death in Cases with High Blood Alcohol Concentration- Autopsy Study.
abstract: The use of alcohol increases the risk of dying from unnatural or violent causes. The presented study explored the distribution of age, gender, cause, and circumstances of death in persons who died in an unnatural and violent manner, with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) higher than 0.3 g/dL, and where the cause of death was not alcohol intoxication. We defined the control (0 < BAC < 0.3 g/dL) and study (BAC ≥ 0.3 g/dL) groups, as in subjects with these concentrations, there is a significant risk of gross intoxication, stupor, and death. The subjects from the study group were older, with no difference in gender distribution. Traffic accidents were the most common fatal event in both groups, followed by suicides. Other accidents (choking on food and exposure to fire) were more frequent in the study group. Compared to the control group, subjects from the study group were older persons whose deaths were mainly accidental.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Belgrade - School of Medicine, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia.
authors.forename: Danica
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cvetković
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Belgrade - School of Medicine, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia.
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Živković
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Belgrade - School of Medicine, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia.
authors.forename: Vera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lukić
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Belgrade - School of Medicine, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia.
authors.forename: Slobodan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nikolić
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents / Q000401:mortality; D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000401:mortality; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000067401:Blood Alcohol Content; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055771:Serbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000401:mortality; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000067401:Blood Alcohol Content
keywords: alcohol; cause of death; forensic pathology; forensic science; intoxication; unnatural death; violent death