Alcohol and Fatal Injuries Among US Adults

Abstract

Use of alcohol is an important risk factor for fatal injuries. However, little information on the relationship between self-reported alcohol use and subsequent risk of fatal injury is available. Therefore, we examined the relationship between the usual number of drinks consumed per occasion and the incidence of fatal injuries in a cohort of US adults. Using data on self-reported alcohol use obtained from 13 251 adults who were included in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study (mean length of follow-up, 9.3 years), we calculated the incidence of fatal injury according to the usual number of drinks consumed per occasion. After we adjusted for the effects of age, sex, race, and education, persons who consumed five or more drinks per occasion were nearly twice as likely to die from injuries (relative risk, 1.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.0 to 3.5) than persons who drank fewer than five drinks per occasion. A dose-response relationship was observed between the usual number of drinks consumed per occasion and risk of fatal injury, with persons who reported drinking nine or more drinks per occasion being 3.3 times more likely to die from injuries (95% confidence interval, 1.3 to 8.3). These data demonstrate the impact of alcohol use on mortality from injuries in the United States and suggest that self-reported alcohol consumption is an important indicator of risk for fatal injury. (JAMA1988;260:2529-2532)