Citation

Borges G, Cherpitel CJ, Rosovsky H. Addiction 1998; 93(1): 103-112.

Affiliation

Division de Investigaciones Epidemiologicas Sociales, Instituto Mexicano de Psiquiatria, Calzada Mexico-Xochimilco. guimar@servidor.unam.mx

Comment In:

Addiction 1998;93(8):1261-2.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9624715

Abstract

AIMS: To present epidemiological measures of associations between violence-related injuries (assaults and fights), alcohol consumption prior to the event, and drinking patterns among males attending hospital emergency rooms (ERs) in Mexico City. DESIGN: All patients were interviewed and breath tested for alcohol consumption. The data were analyzed using a case-control design. SETTING: Eight ERs in Mexico City that were representative of the types of emergency care systems available in that city (from public, private and social security systems hospitals). PARTICIPANTS: Cases were males patients (n = 445) admitted to the ER because of a fight or an assault. The control group was comprised of patients (n = 320) admitted to the ER because of accidents that are less frequently reported a alcohol-related (i.e. work-place accidents, animal bites or recreational accidents excluding near drowning). MEASUREMENTS: A breath sample to estimate BAG, as well as an interviewer-administered questionnaire were used. FINDINGS: Alcohol consumption prior to injury was found to be a more important risk factor than usual drinking for injuries resulting from violence, while quantity of usual alcohol consumption was more predictive of violence-related injuries than frequency of drinking. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest the importance of using more appropriate control groups when estimating associations of alcohol and violence-related injuries so that associations will not be underestimated. More research is needed to establish unbiased estimates of alcohol-related violence.

Language: en