Alcohol-Related Mortality in 15 European Countries in the Postwar Period

The aim of this paper is to assess postwar differences and trends in alcohol-related mortality in the current European Union (minus Luxembourg plus Norway) on the basis of liver cirrhosis mortality and deaths with explicit mention of alcohol, primarily alcohol dependence, alcohol psychosis and alcoh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	European journal of population 2002-01, Vol.18 (4), p.307-323
Main Author:	Ramstedt, Mats
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Alcohol Alcohol drinking Alcohol related disorders Alcohol related mortality Alcohol use Alcoholic liver cirrhosis Alcoholism Cardiomyopathy Causes of death Cirrhosis comparability of causes of death data Comparative studies Cross-national analysis Crossnational studies Death Demography drinking patterns Europe European comparisons European Union Historical demography Liver cirrhosis Liver diseases Men Mortality Mortality Rates Per capita per capita alcohol consumption Poisoning Population Post-war history Psychoses Psychosis Regional Differences Social conditions & trends Social Work socialt arbete Studies Western Europe
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Summary:	The aim of this paper is to assess postwar differences and trends in alcohol-related mortality in the current European Union (minus Luxembourg plus Norway) on the basis of liver cirrhosis mortality and deaths with explicit mention of alcohol, primarily alcohol dependence, alcohol psychosis and alcohol poisoning (AAA). The question of the extent to which these indicators are comparable across Western European countries is also addressed. A marked north-south gradient was found for cirrhosis mortality, with the highest rates revealed in Southern Europe and the lowest in Northern Europe. However, this gradient weakened with the passage of time and the initially quite substantial regional differences declined during the latter part of the study period. Explicitly alcohol-related mortality (AAA), on the other hand, showed a reverse cross-national pattern with the highest rates in the north and the lowest in the south. A positive cross-national relationship was observed between cirrhosis and per capita consumption but this match was not improved by combining cirrhosis with explicitly alcohol-related causes. Nevertheless, within Southern, Central and Northern European countries the relationship between per capita consumption and AAA-mortality was positive. It is concluded that cirrhosis mortality is useful for making rough national comparisons in a Western European context whereas the validity of explicitly alcohol-related mortality is questionable. Cultural differences in recording practices and drinking patterns are discussed as possible determinants of geographical differences in AAA-mortality. /// Cet article compare les niveaux et tendances de la mortalité due à l'alcool dans les pays de l'Union européenne (sans le Luxembourg mais avec la Norvège) depuis la deuxième guerre mondiale, en étudiant la mortalité par cirrhose du foie et par cause spécifiée comme alcoolique, principalement la dépendance, la psychose et l'empoisonnement alcooliques (AAA). Il traite également de la comparabilité de ces indicateurs dans les pays d'Europe occidentale. Pour la mortalité par cirrhose, il existe un axe nord-sud nettement marqué, avec les taux les plus élevés en Europe méridionale et les plus bas en Europe du nord. Cependant, les écarts se réduisent au fil du temps et les différences régionales, au départ assez prononcées, sont beaucoup moins fortes dans la période la plus récente. Par ailleurs, la mortalité par cause spécifiée comme alcoolique a une configuration géograph
ISSN:	0168-6577 1572-9885 1572-9885