Alcohol consumption and injury risk: a case-crossover study in Sydney, Australia

Alcohol contributes to traumatic outcomes that kill or disable at a relatively young age, resulting in the loss of many years of life or disability. Harm from alcohol consumption can result from chronic or acute alcohol use. The aims of this study are to determine the prevalence of alcohol-related injury and contextual factors contributing to injury risk in an ethnically diverse population of Sydney.

The study was undertaken in emergency departments of six hospitals between 2005 and 2006 and used a case-crossover design. The 1599 attendees surveyed (response rate 64.2%) were aged over 14 years and had presented with an injury to the emergency department.

Attendees were predominantly male, young, 40% spoke a language other than English at home and 17% had been drinking in the 6 h prior to their injury. Those born overseas drank at lower levels than their Australian born counterparts. The risk of sustaining an injury was 1.42 times greater in attendees consuming alcohol compared with those who had not. At very high intake levels (>90 g) the risk of injury was statistically significant for both men and women (men odds ratio: 1.88, 95% confidence interval: 1.46-2.42; women odds ratio: 1.89, 95% confidence interval: 1.04-3.43). Drinking at a licensed premise and drinking alone or with a group of people also significantly increased the risk of injury.

The results support current Australian policy concerning alcohol but indicate that further restrictions and increased warnings for the community may be warranted.