Alcohol and IHD-mortality in Russia - a bad connection?

• Background: Alcohol consumption is not only good for the heart, it can be bad if consumed in irregular binges. At the level of the population it is suggested that in countries with such detrimental drinking patterns, negative effects will outweigh any protective effects. Russia constitutes an example of such a country and the decline in IHD-mortality during the anti-alcohol campaign is often referred to as support of this idea.Objective. To analyse the temporal association between IHD mortality and various indicators of alcohol consumption in Russia. Method. Using ARIMA time-series analysis, age and gender-specific IHD mortality rates from 1950 to 1998 were analysed in relation to alcohol consumption and two indexes of alcohol-related mortality; alcohol poisonings and all alcohol-specific causes. Lung cancer mortality is used as in indicator of smoking. Preliminary findings. A first preliminary model without any control variables, suggested that a one-litre change in per capita alcohol consumption was followed by an increase in IHD mortality among male adults (15+) of 3.5 percent.

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pop (ämneskategori)

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