[Alcohol related mortality 1980-90, how many children are affected?]

During the decade 1980 to 1990, 3,500 persons in Norway, under 30 years of age lost their mother or father as a result of an alcohol-related disease. Many of these persons were small children. The article presents research based on linkage of data from the population census of 1980, causes of death and the population register. The results show large regional differences in the rates of children who lost a parent due to misuse of alcohol. Even larger differences were observed between the different districts within the city of Oslo. Differences in registered sales and the consumption of illicitly distilled alcohol both help to explain the regional differences between counties.