Alcohol-drinking history and fatal injury in older adults

Details

• Personal Author:
  Baker SP ; Chen LH ; Gonzalgo SR ; Sorock, Gary S.
• Description:
  Although most clinical guidelines for older adults allow for one drink a day in persons without a history of alcoholism, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease, alcohol may contribute to fatal injury in the elderly. Using two national surveys, this case-control study determined the associations between drinking history and fatal injuries from falls, motor vehicle crashes and suicides. We performed a case-control study using 1,735 cases who died of falls, motor vehicle crashes, or suicides selected from the 1993 National Mortality Follow-Back Survey; controls (n=13,381) were a representative sample of the U.S. population from the 1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey. Cases and controls were restricted to ages 55 years and older. Having 12 or more drinks in the year before death or interview for the controls was used to assess alcohol-drinking history. The unadjusted relative odds for drinkers versus nondrinkers for falls, motor vehicle crashes, and suicides were 1.7, 1.7, and 1.6, respectively. Adjustment for age, gender, marital status, education, and working in the last year did not change these effect estimates, which all excluded the null value. Drinking increased the risk of suicide more for women than for men. Drinking history in older adults is associated about equally with an increased risk of fatal injury from falls, motor vehicle crashes, and suicides. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Age Factors Aging Alcoholic Beverages Men Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Women
• Keywords:
  Accidents Age-factors Age-groups Alcohol Alcoholic-beverages Author Keywords: Injury Elderly Fatal Humans Injuries Risk-analysis Risk-factors

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• ISSN:
  0741-8329
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  193-199
• Volume:
  40
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20037870
• Citation:
  Alcohol 2006 Nov; 40(3):193-199
• Contact Point Address:
  Gary S. Sorock, Geriatric Research Services, 312 Central Avenue Glyndon, MD 21071, USA
• Email:
  gsorock@jhsph.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• Performing Organization:
  Johns Hopkins University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Alcohol
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1f973fd8eb2615cc8821edde974d7d7fd6b6b364ea188208688f14d65e60af36edf945b7295ac3f9b10831b0e30ccd172fbf8e552ee06903c1bcc738e38d3392
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/191796/cdc_191796_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 117.92 KB ]