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Measuring the health consequences of alcohol consumption: current needs and methodological challenges.
Dig Dis. 2005; 23(3-4):162-9.DD

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Extensive research has shown that alcohol consumption leads to poor health and premature death through its causal or contributing roles in numerous chronic health conditions and acute health outcomes, including various cancers, liver disease, and injuries. Paradoxically, advances in understanding of the causal associations between alcohol consumption and various conditions have complicated our ability to discern trends in the health consequences of alcohol consumption over time.

METHODS

Four distinct needs for information on alcohol's role in causing adverse health outcomes are identified. Estimates of alcohol-attributable mortality from two US studies are compared and differences identified.

RESULTS

Differences in the conditions included and alcohol-attributable fractions employed accounted for large differences in the estimated alcohol-attributable mortality for several health outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Despite the broad consensus on many health consequences of alcohol consumption, further research is needed to clarify the conditions that are caused by alcohol consumption, magnitudes of causal relationships, and effects of different patterns of consumption and individual characteristics. Comparisons over time are needed to identify areas where improvements in public health may be occurring or are most needed, to support evaluation of specific interventions, and to encourage the public awareness of alcohol problems that is necessary to change attitudes and behaviors involving alcohol consumption.

Authors+Show Affiliations

Bloss G
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD 20892-9304, USA. gbloss@mail.nih.gov

MeSH

AdultAge DistributionAgedAlcohol DrinkingAlcohol-Related DisordersCause of DeathFemaleHealth EducationHealth StatusHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeeds AssessmentRisk FactorsSeverity of Illness IndexSex DistributionSurvival AnalysisUnited States

Pub Type(s)

Comparative Study
Journal Article
Review

Language

eng

PubMed ID

16508279

Citation

Bloss, Gregory. "Measuring the Health Consequences of Alcohol Consumption: Current Needs and Methodological Challenges." Digestive Diseases (Basel, Switzerland), vol. 23, no. 3-4, 2005, pp. 162-9.
Bloss G. Measuring the health consequences of alcohol consumption: current needs and methodological challenges. Dig Dis. 2005;23(3-4):162-9.
Bloss, G. (2005). Measuring the health consequences of alcohol consumption: current needs and methodological challenges. Digestive Diseases (Basel, Switzerland), 23(3-4), 162-9.
Bloss G. Measuring the Health Consequences of Alcohol Consumption: Current Needs and Methodological Challenges. Dig Dis. 2005;23(3-4):162-9. PubMed PMID: 16508279.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Measuring the health consequences of alcohol consumption: current needs and methodological challenges. A1 - Bloss,Gregory, PY - 2006/3/2/pubmed PY - 2006/7/11/medline PY - 2006/3/2/entrez SP - 162 EP - 9 JF - Digestive diseases (Basel, Switzerland) JO - Dig Dis VL - 23 IS - 3-4 N2 - BACKGROUND/AIMS: Extensive research has shown that alcohol consumption leads to poor health and premature death through its causal or contributing roles in numerous chronic health conditions and acute health outcomes, including various cancers, liver disease, and injuries. Paradoxically, advances in understanding of the causal associations between alcohol consumption and various conditions have complicated our ability to discern trends in the health consequences of alcohol consumption over time. METHODS: Four distinct needs for information on alcohol's role in causing adverse health outcomes are identified. Estimates of alcohol-attributable mortality from two US studies are compared and differences identified. RESULTS: Differences in the conditions included and alcohol-attributable fractions employed accounted for large differences in the estimated alcohol-attributable mortality for several health outcomes. CONCLUSION: Despite the broad consensus on many health consequences of alcohol consumption, further research is needed to clarify the conditions that are caused by alcohol consumption, magnitudes of causal relationships, and effects of different patterns of consumption and individual characteristics. Comparisons over time are needed to identify areas where improvements in public health may be occurring or are most needed, to support evaluation of specific interventions, and to encourage the public awareness of alcohol problems that is necessary to change attitudes and behaviors involving alcohol consumption. SN - 0257-2753 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/16508279/Measuring_the_health_consequences_of_alcohol_consumption:_current_needs_and_methodological_challenges_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -