[Alcohol consumption in males with sudden unexpected death in Helsinki].

The consumption of alcohol during the preceding year before death was investigated in 400 consecutive sudden and unexpected natural and non-natural out-of-hospital deaths in males aged 35-69 years in Helsinki. Information about the consumption of alcohol was obtained by interviewing the next kind or a good friend of the deceased (84.5%), or only from the police protocols (13.3%). In the whole material the consumption of alcohol was as follows; the proportion of teetotallers was 6.8%, that of moderate users 35.0% and that of heavy users/alcoholics 56.0%. In addition, there were few undefined cases (2.3%). In general, the consumption of alcohol was heavy in all categories of deaths. However, it was not so heavy among the deceased with a heart disease as the cause of death (the proportion of heavy users/alcoholics 42.9%) as in the other groups of deceased (63.0-85.4%). The results indicate that the heavy chronic consumption of alcohol is common in a large proportion of males who die suddenly and suggest that in addition to the acute consumption also the chronic use of alcohol is an important risk factor in many deaths among middle-aged Finns.