Health Research Institute, Faculty of Public Health, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
Department of Health Management, Faculty of Public Health, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
Eur J Public Health. 2024 Oct 1;34(5):979-985. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckae059.
Consumption of alcohol is a risk factor for non-communicable and infectious diseases, mental health problems, and can lead injuries and violence. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of alcohol-involved deaths among decedents who died of external causes and underwent autopsy in Lithuania.
Study includes age persons of any age (from 0 to 110 years) who died and were autopsied in Lithuania from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2020. Data were obtained from the Lithuanian State Register of Deaths and Their Causes.
Among external causes of death, the presence of alcohol was detected in 55.0% of cases. Male decedents had a significantly higher number of positive BAC level recorded, at 46.6%, compared with female decedents (32.1%; P < 0.001). The highest incidence of deaths where the alcohol was detected in the deceased's blood was found when the decedent was listed as being in the victims of assault group (71.5%, 95% CI 65.4-77.2). However, the highest median BAC score was found for those in the accidents group (59.7%, 95% CI: 58.2-61.2, BAC 2.42 ‰, IQR 1.86).
The findings of this study suggest that alcohol use may be a contributing factor in a wide range of fatal incidents, including accidents, injuries, and cases of violent intent. Inequalities between males and females were identified, with a higher proportion of males with alcohol detected in blood at the time of death.
饮酒是导致非传染性和传染性疾病、心理健康问题的风险因素，并可能导致伤害和暴力。本研究旨在评估在立陶宛因外部原因死亡并接受尸检的死者中与酒精有关的死亡的流行率。
本研究包括 2017 年 1 月 1 日至 2020 年 12 月 31 日期间在立陶宛死亡并接受尸检的任何年龄（0 至 110 岁）的人。数据来自立陶宛国家死亡登记和死因登记册。
在外因性死亡中，55.0%的病例中发现存在酒精。与女性死者（32.1%；P<0.001）相比，男性死者的血液中记录的阳性 BAC 水平明显更高，为 46.6%。在被列为袭击受害者的死者中，发现血液中检测到酒精的死亡发生率最高（71.5%，95%CI 65.4-77.2）。然而，在事故组中发现的 BAC 中位数最高（59.7%，95%CI：58.2-61.2，BAC 2.42‰，IQR 1.86）。
本研究的结果表明，饮酒可能是一系列致命事件的一个促成因素，包括事故、伤害和有意暴力案件。研究还发现了男性和女性之间的不平等现象，在死亡时血液中检测到酒精的男性比例更高。
