Uncovering the impact of alcoholism

Wednesday April 27th, 2016

Common genetic predispositions may contribute to increased mortality risk and to alcohol use disorder, according to a Swedish study.

Researchers said there was evidence of genetic factors contributing to increased death rates - as well as the effects of abusing alcohol.

Dr Kristina Sundquist of Lund University, Malmo, Sweden, and colleagues took a close look at the causes of the higher mortality rate among individuals with alcohol use disorder. They used information on everyone born in Sweden from 1940 to 1965 who had neither died nor migrated prior to 1973 or before the age of 15 years.

These 2,821,036 individuals were followed from January 1973 to December 2010, and diagnosis of alcohol use disorder was determined from medical, criminal, and pharmacy registries. Among the participants were 131,895 males and 42,163 females with alcohol use disorder.

Diagnosis was made at an average of 39 years of age. These participants had nearly six times the overall mortality risk than those without alcohol use disorder, once sex, education, and year of birth were taken into account.

Looking at relatives of those with alcohol use disorder showed that mortality rates in these families were closer to that of the person with the disorder, the researchers said.

That is, there was not such a great disparity as there was between someone with the disorder and the general population.

But the researchers write: "In middle to late adulthood [we saw] increasing evidence for a direct effect of alcohol use disorder on elevated mortality.

"These results have implications for interventions seeking to reduce the elevated AUD-associated mortality."

The findings appear in the 20 April issue of JAMA Psychiatry.

Heinz, A. et al. Alcohol as An Environmental Mortality Hazard. JAMA Psychiatry 20 April 2016; doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.0399

Tags: Drug & Alcohol Abuse | Europe | General Health

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