[Trends in alcohol consumption in relation to liver diseases in Slovakia 1973-1994]

The World Health Organisation warns before the increase in alcohol consumption and the proportional increase in ethyltoxic diseases which have taken place in past decades. Slovakia is included into the countries with the highest consumption of alcohol in Europe. The authors present a retrospective analysis of alcohol consumption from 1973 to 1994 in Slovakia according to the kinds of alcohol beverages, in a selected district and according to profession and family status. The epidemiologic analysis of the situation of alcohol consumption that is currently present in Slovakia is based on the data from wholesale and retail sale in relation to the prevalence and the mortality due to hepatic cirrhosis. The presented data was investigated by the Slovak Statistical Institute and the Institute of Medical Statistics of the Slovak Republic. Mortality due to hepatic cirrhosis has increased during the past 40 years 10-fold in men, and 4-fold in women. A severely increasing trend in alcohol consumption which had taken place prior to 1990 was succeeded by an abrupt decrease in pure alcohol consumption after 1990 (as much as by 21.2%). This decrease corresponds with the proportional decrease in the prevalence of chronic hepatopathies (by 35%) and with the decrease in mortality due to hepatic cirrhosis (by 20%). This phenomenon may be explained by the proportional increase in prices of alcoholic beverages. According to average yearly consumption of pure alcohol (p.a.) per capita, the consumption of spirits dominates when compared with the consumption of beer and wine. It is desirable to continue in the begun decreasing trend in alcohol consumption which is crucial in the procurement of primary, secondary as well as of tertiary preventions on both individual and population levels. (Tab. 1, Fig. 6, Ref. 19.)