The relationship between alcohol consumption patterns and injury

Aims and design. A case-control design was employed to quantify the risk of injury after the recent consumption of alcohol. Participants and setting. A total of 797 cases and 797 controls were interviewed throughout 1997. A r esponse rate of 82% was calculated for eligible cases who were approached b y an interviewer. The rate for interviews conducted of an people presenting with an injury during the study period was 67%. Cases were injured patient s from a hospital emergency unit. Controls were matched on suburb and mere interviewed at home regarding activities leading up to the time of their ma tched case's injury. Measurements. Cases and controls were questioned about the injury event and alcohol and other drug use consumed in the 6 hours pr ior to the injury. They were also breath-tested and medical records were ch ecked for validation purposes. Findings. Logistic regression analysis produ ced an odds ratio of 3.4 (95% CI: 1.8-6.4) for the risk of sustaining an in jury after consuming more than 60 g of alcohol in a 6-hour period, after co ntrolling for demographic variables. The risk of injury at different levels of alcohol use was substantially higher for females with a significant odd s ration of 9.6 at greater than 60 g of alcohol compared to 2.1 for men. Co nclusions. These results need to be interpreted cautiously, but provide add itional support that the risk of injury increases with the quantity of alco hol consumed and that the risk of injury is significantly higher for women.