Citation

Nemtsov A. Psychiatr. Danub. 2006; 18(Suppl 1): 33.

Affiliation

Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry MPH RF, Poteshnaia str., 3, Moscow, 107076, Russia. (al-nemtsov@mtu-net.ru)

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Facultas Universitatis Studiorum Zagrabiensis - Danube Symposion of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16963887

Abstract

Many times before in different countries it was suggested that 1) alcoholics would be more likely to commit suicide 2) postmortem examination of the suicides would often discover alcohol in blood. Undoubtedly chronic alcohol abuse raises the risk of suicide. Yet comparing of suicide levels and alcohol drinking ranges in different countries does not give a clear picture, probably due to the cultural differences. The sad experience of Russia lets us see the relation between suicide behaviour and drinking in population in real numbers after sudden changes in alcohol consumption. Sudden decreasing of the alcohol consumption during the anti alcohol campaign (from 14.2 to 10.5 liters in 1985-1987) and its increasing in 1988-1994 (up to 14.6 liters) was followed by similar changes in the levels of alcohol poisoning and suicide mortality in man and in women as well. Thus it is possible to calculate the importance of alcohol in suicide mortality in Russia: in 1984-1992 71% of male suicides and 35% of female suicides were related to alcohol. In 1994-2001 the proportion of alcohol related suicide decreased to 29% and 12% accordingly because economic changes raised the non alcohol suicide factors such as social and economical. The suicide level in general rose 1.5 times for men. The female suicide level is 15-30 (difference changes in years) times less then the male and was related to alcohol.

Language: en