Alcoholism and Fatal Accidents

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Abstract
In order to study and assess the relationship between alcoholism and accident mortality, the number of accidental deaths among 1,343 San Francisco Bay Area alcoholics was compared to that expected on the basis of the age- and sex-specific death rates for Bay Area residents. These alcoholics were selected from among the alcoholic admissions during 1954-1957 to 4 California alcoholism treatment facilities and were followed from their date of admission through 1961 for a total of 7289 man-years; 1401 of these man-years were contributed by women; 1928 by those aged under 40, 2651 by those over 50. Of the 1343 alcoholics, 217 died, 35 accidentally, lOinmotor vehicle accidents, 14 in falls, 6 by poisoning and 5 in other accidents. The best estimate on the basis of these data (and subject to the indicated standard error) is that during the given period of time the alcoholics studied were 7 times as likely to become the victim of some type of fatal accident, with a rate of 480 deaths per 100,000 man-years, compared with 69 in the whole population. They were 4 1/2 times as likely to die in a motorvehicle accident (rate, 137 vs. 30), about 16 times as likely to die as a result of an accidental fall (192 vs. 12), about 30 times as likely to die as a result of accidental poisoning (82 vs. 3), and about 3 times as likely to meet death as a result of an accident other than those specified (69 vs. 24). The women alcoholics had an accidental death rate nearly 16 times and the men alcoholics 6 times that expected. The currently married men alcoholics had a lower rate (362 vs. 492) and those in their 40s a higher rate (703; age49, 455). The alcoholics were also 3 times as likely as those of comparable age and sex to die from any cause; 10 time as likely from liver cirrhosis or stomach ulcers, 6 times from influenza and pneumonia, 4 1/2 times from tuberculosis, 3 1/2 times by suicide, and twice as likely to die of heart disease. The circumstances of death are discussed and it is suggested that the elevated rate of accident mortality among alcoholics reflects not only the immediate effects of alcohol, but also their life pattern, personality, state of health, and care received when ill or injured.

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