[Causes of death among alcoholics]

During the five year period 1987-91, 377 deaths among alcoholics were examined at the Gade Institute, Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Bergen. The material was dominated by male alcoholics. More than half the cases were regarded as natural deaths. Among these, the dominating cause of death was cardiovascular disease. The rest of the material, where death was attributed to non-natural causes, was dominated by lethal intoxications. A large number of the deaths were suicides.