TY - JOUR
T1 - 'Alcohol dependence' and death
T2 - Survival analysis of the Baltimore ECA sample from 1981 to 1995
AU - Neumark, Yehuda D.
AU - Van Etten, Michelle L.
AU - Anthony, James C.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by Training Grant DA07292 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIDA Research Grant DA08199, and Research Grant MH47447 from the National Institute of Mental Health.
PY - 2000
Y1 - 2000
N2 - Objective: Evidence is provided about the association between 'alcohol- use disorders' and the 14-year risk of death in a community sample. Most prior descriptions of this association come from treatment samples. Method: 3,481 adult household residents were recruited into the NIMB Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area survey and interviewed in 1981. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) was employed to assess alcohol drinking and other drug-taking behaviors, and to determine fulfillment of DSM-III criteria for 'alcohol abuse' and/or 'dependence' diagnoses. Participants were followed-up in 1993-1996, by which time 24% of the sample had died. Median age of death was estimated for persons with and without alcohol disorders, and for 'heavy' and 'nonheavy' drinkers. Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for the influence of age, sex, race, 'drug-use disorders,' and tobacco smoking. Results. 'Alcohol abuse' and/or 'dependence' was associated with a higher risk of death and a younger median age of death (adjusted relative risk= 1.3, p=.016). 'Heavy' alcohol consumption was also associated with a significantly elevated risk of death. The DIS diagnosis of 'alcohol use disorder' helped predict mortality over and above a prediction based solely upon 'heavy drinking' (p < .01). Conclusions: These findings indicate that the observed increased risk of death associated with 'alcohol dependence' is not limited to cases severe enough to have been treated but is also present among cases in the household population.
AB - Objective: Evidence is provided about the association between 'alcohol- use disorders' and the 14-year risk of death in a community sample. Most prior descriptions of this association come from treatment samples. Method: 3,481 adult household residents were recruited into the NIMB Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area survey and interviewed in 1981. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) was employed to assess alcohol drinking and other drug-taking behaviors, and to determine fulfillment of DSM-III criteria for 'alcohol abuse' and/or 'dependence' diagnoses. Participants were followed-up in 1993-1996, by which time 24% of the sample had died. Median age of death was estimated for persons with and without alcohol disorders, and for 'heavy' and 'nonheavy' drinkers. Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for the influence of age, sex, race, 'drug-use disorders,' and tobacco smoking. Results. 'Alcohol abuse' and/or 'dependence' was associated with a higher risk of death and a younger median age of death (adjusted relative risk= 1.3, p=.016). 'Heavy' alcohol consumption was also associated with a significantly elevated risk of death. The DIS diagnosis of 'alcohol use disorder' helped predict mortality over and above a prediction based solely upon 'heavy drinking' (p < .01). Conclusions: These findings indicate that the observed increased risk of death associated with 'alcohol dependence' is not limited to cases severe enough to have been treated but is also present among cases in the household population.
KW - Alcohol dependence
KW - ECA
KW - Mortality
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U2 - 10.3109/10826080009147471
DO - 10.3109/10826080009147471
M3 - Article
C2 - 10741540
AN - SCOPUS:0034111767
SN - 1082-6084
VL - 35
SP - 533
EP - 549
JO - Substance Use and Misuse
JF - Substance Use and Misuse
IS - 4
ER -