[Click
here to download a
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet of the above table]
FIGURE 23
ALCOHOL-RELATED DEATHS BY CAUSE
BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1999
HIGHLIGHTS TO TABLE 39/FIGURE 23
- There were 1,832 deaths that were directly or indirectly related to alcohol in 1999 and 9,106 deaths in the five-year period, 1994-1998.
- Deaths that are 'directly' related to alcohol are identified by specific underlying causes of death which involve alcohol. Deaths that are 'indirectly' related to alcohol do not have an alcohol-related underlying cause of death, but alcohol was noted somewhere on the Medical Certification of Death form. In 1993, the Division of Vital Statistics introduced a revised form which contained a box in which physicians and coroners could note environmental, occupational and lifestyle factors, including pesticides, asbestos and abuse of alcohol/tobacco. The addition of this box elicited an increase in the number of times alcohol was mentioned, and therefore has resulted in an increased reporting of deaths indirectly related to alcohol.
- In 1999, 384 deaths (21.0%) were directly related to alcohol, which is based on the underlying cause of death. In the 1994-1998 period, 2,250 deaths or 24.7% were directly related to alcohol.
- In 1999, liver disease/cirrhosis accounted for more than six out of ten direct deaths from alcohol, higher than the proportion shown for 1994-1998. Alcoholic psychoses and dependence was the next largest category of deaths directly related to alcohol.
- There were 1,448 deaths (79.0%) indirectly related to alcohol in 1999. Circulatory system diseases were the largest category of deaths indirectly related to alcohol, accounting for over one fifth of these deaths in 1999 and a slightly lower proportion in 1994-1998. Other large causes of death in the indirect group were neoplasms, accidents, and diseases of the respiratory system.
Top