The burden of alcohol-related morbidity and mortality in Ottawa, Canada

Abstract

ObjectivesAlcohol-related morbidity and mortality are significant public health issues. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence and trends over time of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related morbidity and mortality; and public attitudes of alcohol use impacts on families and the community in Ottawa, Canada.MethodsPrevalence (2013–2014) and trends (2000–2001 to 2013–2014) of alcohol use were obtained from the Canadian Community Health Survey. Data on paramedic responses (2015), emergency department (ED) visits (2013–2015), hospitalizations (2013–2015) and deaths (2007–2011) were used to quantify the acute and chronic health effects of alcohol in Ottawa. Qualitative data were obtained from the “Have Your Say” alcohol survey, an online survey of public attitudes on alcohol conducted in 2016.ResultsIn 2013–2014, an estimated 595,300 (83%) Ottawa adults 19 years and older drank alcohol, 42% reported binge drinking in the past year. Heavy drinking increased from 15% in 2000–2001 to 20% in 2013–2014. In 2015, the Ottawa Paramedic Service responded to 2,060 calls directly attributable to alcohol. Between 2013 and 2015, there were an average of 6,100 ED visits and 1,270 hospitalizations per year due to alcohol. Annually, alcohol use results in at least 140 deaths in Ottawa. Men have higher rates of alcohol-attributable paramedic responses, ED visits, hospitalizations and deaths than women, and young adults have higher rates of alcohol-attributable paramedic responses. Qualitative data of public attitudes indicate that alcohol misuse has greater repercussions not only on those who drink, but also on the family and community.ConclusionsResults highlight the need for healthy public policy intended to encourage a culture of drinking in moderation in Ottawa to support lower risk alcohol use, particularly among men and young adults.

Health-related behaviours and their relationship with self-rated health among Canadian adults

“…SRH is an inherently holistic measure and previous qualitative research conducted in Canada indicated that alcohol use is associated with many social activities [43]. Therefore, it is possible that women drink more for social reasons and perceive health benefits from the associated social networks.…”

“…In an Ottawa study, only 56% of respondents were concerned or strongly concerned about binge drinking; it was selected least frequently among alcohol-related concerns to be addressed first. Of those who cited binge-drinking as a concern, this concern was attributed to worries centered on individual risk, vulnerability to violence, and risk of future addiction [43].…”

Psychiatric comorbidity as a risk factor for the mortality of people with bulimia nervosa

“…Potentially life-threatening complications of BN include gastrointestinal, endocrine and renal disturbances which can lead to severe electrolyte derangements and cardiac arrhythmias [25]. Among others, important factors contributing to the increased risk of suicide in people with BN could be the high level of impulsiveness [26], hopelessness [28] and-as already mentioned-comorbidities such as SUDs, PDs and ADs, like unipolar depression [28], which themselves are also associated with increased mortality [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][29][30][31][32][33]. In the literature, SUDs, PDs, ADs, and anxiety disorders were found the most frequent mental disorders comorbid to BN [34][35][36].…”

Psychiatric comorbidity as a risk factor for mortality in people with anorexia nervosa

“…In this study, comorbid PD was found related to a worse treatment outcome. Potential comorbidities of AN including addiction to alcohol [15,16] or illicit drugs [17], unipolar depression [18] and PD [19] have been found to be associated with increased mortality. In a recent retrospective Swedish register study investigating mortality in women with AN, SUDs and depression significantly contributed to mortality, but not PDs [20].…”