Faculty of Medicine and Health, Discipline of Pharmacology, Translational Australian Clinical Toxicology Program, The University of Sydney, New South Wales.
Discipline of Addiction Medicine, Central Clinical School, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, New South Wales.
Aust N Z J Public Health. 2021 Aug;45(4):394-399. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.13122. Epub 2021 Jun 7.
The acute effects of alcohol consumption are a major risk factor for suicide. Positive blood alcohol concentrations are present in almost one-third of all suicides at time of death. These suicides are defined as alcohol-related suicides. This cross-sectional study examines the geospatial distribution/clustering of high proportions of alcohol-related suicides and reports on socioeconomic and demographic risk factors.
National Coronial Information System (NCIS) data were used to calculate proportions of suicides with alcohol present at the time of death for each level 3 statistical areas (SA3) in Australia. A density analysis and hotspot cluster analysis were used to visualise and establish statistically significant clustering of areas with higher (hotspots) and lower (coldspots) proportions. Subsequently, socioeconomic and demographic risk factors for alcohol use and suicide were reported on for hot and cold spots.
Significant clustering of areas with higher proportions of alcohol-related suicide occurred in northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland, as well as inland New South Wales and inland Queensland. Clustering of SA3s with significantly lower proportions occurred in major city and inner regional Sydney and Melbourne. Conclusion and implications for public health: Results from this study identify areas in which prevention strategies should target alcohol use and can be used to inform prevention strategy design. Additionally, hotspots and coldspots identified in this study can be used for further analysis to better understand contextual risk factors for alcohol-related suicide.
饮酒的急性效应是自杀的一个主要危险因素。在死亡时，几乎三分之一的自杀者血液中的酒精浓度呈阳性。这些自杀被定义为与酒精有关的自杀。本横断面研究检查了与酒精有关的高比例自杀的地理空间分布/聚类，并报告了社会经济和人口统计学风险因素。
国家验尸信息系统 (NCIS) 数据用于计算澳大利亚每个三级统计区 (SA3) 中死亡时存在酒精的自杀比例。密度分析和热点聚类分析用于可视化和确定具有较高（热点）和较低（冷点）比例的区域的统计学显著聚类。随后，报告了热点和冷点的与酒精使用和自杀相关的社会经济和人口统计学风险因素。
在西澳大利亚州北部、北领地和昆士兰州，以及新南威尔士州内陆和昆士兰州内陆，与酒精有关的自杀比例较高的区域存在显著聚类。在主要城市和悉尼和墨尔本的内城区，与酒精有关的自杀比例显著较低的 SA3 区域存在聚类。
本研究的结果确定了应针对酒精使用的预防策略的区域，并可用于为预防策略设计提供信息。此外，本研究中确定的热点和冷点可用于进一步分析，以更好地了解与酒精有关的自杀的背景风险因素。
