title: Alcohol-attributed disease burden and alcohol policies in the BRICS-countries during the years 1990-2013.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We aimed to assess alcohol consumption and alcohol-attributed disease burden by DALYs (disability adjusted life years) in the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) between 1990 and 2013, and explore to what extent these countries have implemented evidence-based alcohol policies during the same time period.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comparative risk assessment approach and literature review, within a setting of the BRICS countries. Participants were the total populations (males and females combined) of each country. Levels of alcohol consumption, age-standardized alcohol-attributable DALYs per 100 000 and alcohol policy documents were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The alcohol-attributed disease burden mirrors level of consumption in Brazil, Russia and India, to some extent in China, but not in South Africa. Between the years 1990-2013 DALYs per 100 000 decreased in Brazil (from 2124 to 1902), China (from 1719 to 1250) and South Africa (from 2926 to 2662). An increase was observed in Russia (from 4015 to 4719) and India (from 1574 to 1722). Policies were implemented in all of the BRICS countries and the most common were tax increases, drink-driving measures and restrictions on advertisement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was an overall decrease in alcohol-related DALYs in Brazil, China and South Africa, while an overall increase was observed in Russia and India. Most notably is the change in DALYs in Russia, where a distinct increase from 1990-2005 was followed by a steady decrease from 2005-2013. Even if assessment of causality cannot be done, policy changes were generally followed by changes in alcohol-attributed disease burden. This highlights the importance of more detailed research on this topic.
authors.affiliation: Karolinska Institutet, Department of Public Health Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Rynaz
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rabiee
authors.affiliation: Karolinska Institutet, Department of Public Health Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Agardh
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Coates
authors.affiliation: Karolinska Institutet, Department of Public Health Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden; Center for Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Allebeck
authors.affiliation: Karolinska Institutet, Department of Public Health Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anna-Karin
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Danielsson
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood* / Q000639:trends; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D001938:Brazil; D002681:China; D017281:Cost of Illness; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D011640:Public Policy; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012426:Russia; D013019:South Africa