THE PREVALENCE OF ALCOHOL-RELATED MORTALITY IN BOTH SEXES - VARIATIONBETWEEN INDICATORS, STOCKHOLM, 1987

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to analyze the prevalence ra tes of alcohol-related mortality-according to various indicators-in bo th sexes in Stockholm, Sweden. Methods. A study of alcohol involvement at death was undertaken for all 668 deceased persons aged 15 through 54 years in 1987 in Stockholm. Death certificates, autopsy information , police records, and information about earlier conviction were analyz ed. Results. When different measures of estimation were compared, ther e were great differences in the prevalence rates of alcohol involvemen t. according to the death certificates, 9.2% of the males and 11.2% of the females had alcoholism, alcohol intoxication, pancreatitis or liv er cirrhosis as underlying cause of death. When all accessible informa tion was used, potential alcohol involvement was found in 57.5% of the male and in 32.2% of the female deaths. There was a marked associatio n between earlier drunken driving and alcohol involvement. After reeva luation of the diagnoses with autopsy findings, the number of cases wi th cardiac enlargement and suspected cardiomyopathy increased from 10 to 62. Conclusion. The results point to the serious underdiagnosis of alcohol involvement in death certificates and the misclassification of important causes of death (i.e., liver cirrhosis and cardiac disease) ; they also call for increased efforts regarding prevention.