Alcohol-Related Mortality in a Rural Community in Korea over an Eight-Year Period

Objective-This study investigated the effects of alcohol intake and alcohol dependency on mortality over an eight-year period in a rural community in South Korea. Methods-We performed descriptive analyses of the deceased individuals using basic demographic data, alcohol-related data such as the amount of alcohol consumed daily, the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ), drinking behaviors, and smoking behaviors. We controlled various confounding factors using binary logistic regression to detect the odds ratio for alcohol-related mortality. Results-A higher mortality rate was observed in those subjects scoring 15 or more on the SADQ with an odds ratio of 1.74 (95% CI=0.86-3.51). A lower mortality rate was observed in those who consumed less than 12 g of alcohol per day than in the non-drinkers or those who consumed 12 g or more of alcohol per day. Conclusion-The results revealed that alcohol intake and intermediate-term mortality had a J-shaped relationship, similar to that found in previous studies using Western subjects.