Assessment of Age and Sex Differences in Risk of 1-Year Mortality After Emergency Department Visits Caused by Alcohol Use

Source:

Myran DT, Rhodes E, Imsirovic H, Fernando SM, Sood MM, Tanuseputro P. Assessment of Age and Sex Differences in Risk of 1-Year Mortality After Emergency Department Visits Caused by Alcohol Use. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(4):e225499. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.5499

Discussion

The findings of this study suggest a substantial elevation in the risk of mortality for individuals after 1 or more ED visits due to alcohol. The findings also suggest that a single ED visit due to alcohol, even in younger individuals, was associated with a substantial elevation in the risk of death and that most deaths were associated with a single visit.

A study limitation was the inability to identify the role of alcohol in each death. Whereas a single visit may be dismissed as a unique event, and patients may receive minimal follow-up after discharge from the ED, our data suggest that any ED visit due to alcohol is associated with future adverse events. Increases in delivery of interventions may be warranted because ED visits and deaths due to alcohol have been increasing in North America. Studies suggest that improving uptake of brief alcohol interventions delivered in the ED and increasing access to medical services for addiction may reduce harm associated with use of alcohol.