The Physician's Role in Preventing Alcohol-Related Injuries
- Julian R. Waller, MD, MPH
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
Identifying potential areas for successful patient counseling to prevent or reduce high-risk behavior is one of the ongoing goals of the medical profession. Three steps are required. First, a predictive relationship between a given behavior and a harmful outcome must be documented. Second, there must be an easy way to communicate this information to the patient within the context and constraints of the typical medical practice. Third, there must be evidence that such communication can reduce risk effectively.
The article by Anda et al in this issue of THE Journal1 clearly fulfills the first of these requirements. Prospective analysis of deaths over a nine-year period among more than 13 000 adults revealed that for both men and women, self-reported heavy consumption of alcohol is predictive of a greater likelihood of subsequent death from injury.
Persons who initially reported consuming five or more drinks per occasion as their usual quantity
