Shoulder injuries common in alcoholics. An analysis of 413 injuries

We recorded prospectively all adult patients with a fracture of the proximal end of the humerus, clavicle and scapula or a primary shoulder or acromioclavicular dislocation in the city of Malmö in 1987. Altogether there were 413 injures. The hospital records from the Department of Alcohol Diseases were searched for these patients and for 2 age- and gender-matched controls for each patient. 12% of all patients with a shoulder injury were recorded as alcohol abusers. This number was significantly greater than that of the controls. The difference was more obvious in men than in women. In men between 30 and 64 years, almost half of the proximal humerus fractures and shoulder dislocations, one third of mid-clavicular fractures and two thirds of all lateral clavicle fractures were sustained by alcohol abusers. Our findings emphasize the significance of alcohol abuse in the etiology of shoulder injuries, especially in men. Most of the men with a fracture of the lateral clavicle are registered at the Department of Alcohol Diseases, making this injury a marker of alcohol abuse.