Researchers at the University of Colorado at Denver looked at the effect that alcohol can have on the organ systems among American Indians with alcohol problems, beyond the usual major health problems caused by chronic alcohol abuse.
"Among American Indians, five of the top 10 causes of death are strongly associated with alcohol use: accidents, alcoholism, suicides, homicides, and cirrhosis," said Jay Shore, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado at Denver, the Health Sciences Center's American Indian and Alaska Native Programs, and corresponding author for the study. "These causes of death occur at rates at least three to four times the national average."
Shore said "although previous studies conducted among American Indians have described alcohol use as one of several risk factors associated with specific health problems – such as cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, neurological, or metabolic conditions – none have focused on the association with formally defined alcohol abuse or dependence."
"Furthermore," he said, "the majority of these studies drew their sample from a patient population rather than a community sample. Ours is the first study to directly examine the relationship of alcohol abuse and dependence with medical conditions in a large population-based American Indian sample."
Researchers analyzed data that had been previously collected from members of two culturally distinct American Indian tribes – the Southwest and the Northern Plains – living on or near their reservations. They examined associations between self-reported alcohol abuse/dependence and 19 medical conditions.
Significant Alcohol Releationship
"Medical conditions that had significant relationships with alcohol abuse/dependence were sprains and strains, hearing and vision problems, kidney and bladder problems, head injuries, pneumonia/tuberculosis, dental problems, and liver problems/pancreatitis," said Shore. "The total count of medical conditions was also significantly related to alcohol abuse/dependence, with a higher count being associated with the outcome."Shore said "future research needs to better quantify the relationship of the degree of alcohol use with medical conditions, use physician-diagnosed or more objective measures of medical conditions, conduct prospective studies, and determine if and why certain populations are at greater risk for alcohol-related medical problems."
Source: The study was published in the April 2006 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
