Alcohol and non-fatal injury in the U.S. general population: a risk function analysis

A 10-year national trend study of alcohol consumption, 1984-1995: is the period of declining drinking over?

OBJECTIVES

Data from the 1984, 1990, and 1995 National Alcohol Surveys were used to investigate whether declines shown previously in drinking and heavy drinking across many demographic subgroups have continued.

METHODS

Three alcohol consumption indicators--current drinking (vs abstaining), weekly drinking, and weekly heavy drinking (5 or more drinks in a day)--were assessed for the total US population and for demographic subgroups.

RESULTS

Rates of current drinking, weekly drinking, and frequent heavy drinking, previously reported to have decreased between the 1984 and 1990 surveys, remained unchanged between 1990 and 1995. Separate analyses for each beverage type (beer, wine, and spirits) and most demographic subgroups revealed similar temporal patterns.

CONCLUSIONS

Alcohol consumption levels, declining since the early 1980s, may reach a minimum by the 21st century. Consumption levels should be monitored carefully over the next few years in the event that long-term alcohol consumption trends may be shifting.

Alcoholic beverage preference and risks of alcohol-related medical consequences: a preliminary report from the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey

In studying the alcohol-morbidity association, a substantial amount of attention and efforts has been focused on volume of alcohol intake. Considerably less is known about the differential health effects of beverage types. The present study used a most recent national household survey of the U.S. general population on drinking practices, alcohol use disorders, and their associated disabilities. The prevalence of a broad range of alcohol-related diseases was examined with respect to preferred beverage type, as well as consumption level. Our findings showed a reduced health risk associated with beer and wine drinking for a number of physical disorders, and a somewhat favorable cardiovascular effect of these two beverage types in relation to abstention. Among preferrers of beer, wine, and liquor, the results indicate that liquor preference is associated with elevated morbidity for several medical consequences. However, interpretation of results and the public health implications of these findings need to be taken cautiously, because sociodemographic and other behavioral characteristics were not considered in this preliminary report.

Alcohol and violence-related injuries in the emergency room

This chapter reviews data on estimated blood alcohol concentration (BAC), self-reported consumption, and drinking patterns and problems from emergency room (ER) studies of alcohol and violence-related injury. These studies used probability samples of all injured patients that were representative of the population served by the ER where the data were collected. Those with violence-related injuries were more likely to be admitted to the ER with a positive BAC, to report drinking prior to the event, and to report more frequent heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems than those admitted to the same ER during the same time period with injuries from other causes. Limitations to these ER studies, including representativeness of samples, alcohol's presence and role in violence perpetration compared to violence victimization, the presence of other psychoactive substances, and the actual risk at which alcohol places the individual for injuries resulting from violence are discussed.