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International Journal of Public Health
Published in: International Journal of Public Health 2/2012

01-04-2012 | Original Article

Alcohol-attributable burden of disease and injury in Canada, 2004

Authors: Kevin D. Shield, Tara Kehoe, Ben Taylor, Jayadeep Patra, Jürgen Rehm

Published in: International Journal of Public Health | Issue 2/2012

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Abstract

Objective

This analysis aimed to estimate the burden of disease and injury caused and prevented by alcohol in 2004 for Canadians aged 0–69 years and compare the effects of different magnitudes of adjustment of survey data on these estimates.

Methods

Alcohol indicators were obtained from the Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey 2008 and were corrected to 80% coverage using adult per capita recorded and unrecorded consumption. Risk relations were taken from meta-analyses. Estimates of burden of disease and injury were obtained from the World Health Organization.

Results

In 2004, 4,721 (95% CI 1,432–8,150) deaths and 274,663 (95% CI 201,397–352,432) disability-adjusted life years lost (DALYs) of Canadians 0–69 years of age were attributable to alcohol. This represented 7.1% (95% CI 2.1–12.2%) of all deaths and 9.3% (95% CI 6.8–11.9%) of DALYs for this age range. The sensitivity analysis showed that the outcome estimates varied substantially based on the adjusted coverage rate.

Conclusion

More attention to burden of disease and injury statistics is required to accurately characterize alcohol-related harms. This burden is preventable and could be reduced by implementation of more effective policies.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Alcohol-attributable burden of disease and injury in Canada, 2004
Authors
Kevin D. Shield
Tara Kehoe
Ben Taylor
Jayadeep Patra
Jürgen Rehm
Publication date
01-04-2012
Publisher
SP Birkhäuser Verlag Basel
Published in
International Journal of Public Health / Issue 2/2012
Print ISSN: 1661-8556
Electronic ISSN: 1661-8564
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-011-0247-7

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