Rusmiddelbruk og dødelighet
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5324/nje.v6i1.273Abstract
SAMMENDRAG
Bruk og misbruk av rusmidler øker risikoen for en tidlig død. Blant kroniske alkoholmisbrukere er overdødeligheten
på omkring 2-3, og størst overdødelighet finner vi mht. levercirrhose, kreft i øvre deler av fordøyelseskanalen,
selvmord og ulykker. Akutt beruselse har spesielt betydning for ulykkesdødsfall som drukning og
trafikkulykker. Epidemiologiske studier har vist at moderat alkoholkonsum gir en redusert risiko for hjertekardødelighet
sammenliknet med avholdenhet (en J-formet risikokurve). Disse funnene reiser en viktig debatt
omkring implikasjonene for folkehelse.
På aggregert nivå gir en økning i alkoholkonsumet en beskjeden effekt på samlet dødelighet, men for alkoholrelaterte
sykdommer, ulykker og selvmord ser man betydelige effekter av endringer i gjennomsnittskonsumet.
Stoffmisbrukere har en høyere overdødelighet enn alkoholmisbrukere (RR omkring 5-30), og de vanligste
dødsårsakene er overdoser, selvmord og ulykker. Bruk og misbruk av alkohol er betydelig mer utbredt i befolkningen
enn narkotika, og størstedelen av rusmiddelrelaterte dødsfall kan knyttes til alkohol. Det er imidlertid
usikkert om dette gjenspeiles i opinionen og som argument ved politiske beslutninger og ressursallokeringer.
Rossow I.
Alcohol, drugs and mortality. Nor J Epidemiol 1996; 6 (1): 37-44.
ENGLISH SUMMARY
Use and abuse of intoxicants increase the risk of premature death. Among chronic alcohol abusers the excess
mortality is in the range of 2-3. Tthe highest excess mortality is found with respect to liver cirrhosis, cancer in
the upper digestive tract, suicide and accidents. Acute intoxication also increases the risk of premature death,
particularly drowning and traffic accidents. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated a lower risk of death
from CHD among light and moderate drinkers as compared to abstainers (the J-shaped curve). These findings
have induced an important debate concerning public health implications. At the aggregate level an increase in
alcohol consumption has little impact on all-cause mortality, but changes in per capita consumption are found
to covary significantly with deaths from alcohol related diseases, accidents and suicides.
Drug addicts are found to have a higher excess mortality than alcohol abusers (RR in the range of 5-30),
and the most common causes of death are overdoses, suicides and accidents. On the other hand, use and abuse
of alcohol is far more widespread in the population than narcotics, and most of the substance related deaths
can thus be attributed to alcohol. To which degree this is reflected in the public opinion and in political
strategies and allocation of resources, may however be questionned.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Norsk Epidemiologi licenses all content of the journal under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) licence. This means, among other things, that anyone is free to copy and distribute the content, as long as they give proper credit to the author(s) and the journal. For further information, see Creative Commons website for human readable or lawyer readable versions.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).