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The association between alcohol consumption and 15 year mortality was studied in a cohort of 49,464 Swedish conscripts, mostly aged 18-19. A strong association was found. The relative risk of death among conscripts with a high consumption of alcohol (greater than 250 g/week) was 3.0 (95% confidence interval (2.3 to 4.1) compared with those with moderate consumption (1-100 g/week). After adjustment for social background variables the relative risk was reduced to 2.1 (95% confidence interval 1.4 to 3.2). Among causes of death a strong predominance was found for violent death, suicide or probable suicide being the leading single cause and accounting for 236 (36%) of all deaths. The reported U shaped curve for total mortality was not confirmed, though when violent deaths were excluded a U shaped curve was suggested for other causes of death. These findings provide important epidemiological data on the drinking habits of young people and the consequences for mortality.
Andréasson et al. (Sat,) studied this question.