Geographical Inequalities in Alcohol-Related Mortality Rates in Taiwan due to Socio-Demographic Differences

To assess the relationships between alcohol-related mortality and socio-demography in Taiwan.

Using 2002-2006 data from the national death-diagnosis registration system, we calculated the alcohol-attributed disease mortality of those aged 15 and older in 348 townships in Taiwan. This study provides spatial clustering of alcohol-attributed disease mortality rates and area socio-demographic conditions across townships, examining the relationship between the two using a spatial autoregressive model.

The relative risk of death due to alcohol-attributed diseases was estimated to increase by 2.1 and 0.9% as a result of a 1% increase in the percentage of men and aboriginal residents, respectively. The risk of death was estimated to decrease by 25% for every 1 year increase in education level. Industrialization and labor participation were also found to be predictors of the outcome measure in areas with differing levels of urbanization.

This study provides significant evidence that township-level relationships between alcohol-related mortality and socioeconomic variables exist in Taiwan. Public health policymakers should better prioritize the specific areas in which comprehensive intervention should be undertaken accordingly.