Consumption of Alcohol Surrogates Among Alcohol-Dependent Women.

This is the first in-depth study of alcohol and surrogate drinking patterns, types, reasons, and correlates among alcohol-dependent women in Belarus. The structured interviews were performed in 2013 with 103 alcohol-dependent women admitted to a narcological clinic in Grodno, Belarus. The results suggest that at least 30.3% of alcohol-dependent women regularly consume samogon (moonshine) and 10.8% of women use surrogates, the most popular among which are medications with a high percentage of ethanol and industrial spirits. The belief that samogon exceeds licensed vodka in quality is the main motive for its consumption. The results from the present study confirm that noncommercial alcohol use is common among alcohol-dependent women although its use may be underreported. These findings emphasize that the implementation of a comprehensive alcohol policy must take fully into account the consumption of alcohol from illicit sources.

Contribution of alcohol in accident related mortality in Belarus: a time series approach.

BACKGROUND: High accidental death rates in the former Soviet republics (FSR) and its profound fluctuation over the past decades have attracted considerable interest. The research evidences emphasize binge drinking pattern as a potentially important contributor to accident mortality crisis in FSR. In line with this evidence we assume that higher level of alcohol consumption in conjunction with binge drinking pattern results in close aggregate-level association between alcohol psychoses and accidental death rates in the former Soviet Slavic republic Belarus. METHODS: Trends in alcohol psychoses rate (as a proxy for alcohol consumption) from 1979 to 2007 were analyzed employing a distributed lag analysis in order to asses bivariate relationship between the two time series. RESULTS: According to the Bureau of Forensic Medicine autopsy reports the number of deaths due to accidents and injuries increased by 52.5% (from 62.3 to 95.0 per 100.000 of residents), and fatal alcohol poisoning rate increased by 108.6% (from 12.8 to 26.7 per 100.000 of residents) in Belarus between 1979 and 2007. Alcohol in blood was found in 50.1% victims of deaths from accidents and injuries for the whole period, with the minimum figure 40% in 1986 and maximum 58.2% in 2005. The outcome of distributed lags analysis indicated statistically significant association between the number of alcohol psychoses cases and the number BAC-positive deaths from accidents at zero lag. CONCLUSIONS: The outcome of this study supports previous findings suggesting that alcohol and deaths from accidents are closely connected in a culture with prevailing intoxication-oriented drinking pattern, and add to growing body of evidence that a substantial proportion of accidental deaths in Belarus are due to effects of binge drinking.

Beverage-specific alcohol sales and violent mortality in Russia.

BACKGROUND: High violent mortality rate in Russia and its profound fluctuation over recent decades have attracted considerable interest. A mounting body of evidence points to the binge drinking pattern as a potentially important contributor to the violent mortality crisis in Russia. In line with this evidence, we assume that higher level of vodka consumption in conjunction with binge drinking pattern results in close aggregate-level association between vodka sales and violent mortality rates in Russia. AIMS AND METHODS: To test this hypothesis, trends in beverage-specific alcohol sales per capita and mortality rates from external causes in Russia between 1980 and 2005 were analyzed by means of ARIMA time-series analysis. RESULTS: Results of the analysis indicate that violent mortality rates tend to be more responsive to change in vodka sales per capita than to change in total level of alcohol sales. The analysis suggests that a 1-litre increase in vodka sales per capita would result in a 5% increase in violent mortality rate, an 11.3% increase in accidents and injuries mortality rate, a 9.2% increase in suicide rate, a 12.5% increase in homicide rate, and a 21.9% increase in fatal alcohol poisoning rate. CONCLUSION: The outcomes of this study provide support for the hypothesis that alcohol played a crucial role in the fluctuation in violent mortality rate in Russia in recent decades. Assuming that drinking vodka is usually associated with intoxication episodes, these findings provide additional evidence that the binge drinking pattern is an important determinant of the violent mortality crisis in Russia.

Aggregate level beverage specific effect of alcohol sale on myocardial infarction mortality rate.

BACKGROUND: The pronounced fluctuations in cardiovascular mortality in the countries of the former Soviet Union over the past decades have attracted considerable interest. The mounting evidence suggests that binge drinking pattern is a potentially important contributor to higher cardiovascular mortality rate in the former Soviet republics. There is assumption that if occasional heavy drinking of strong spirits increases the risk of cardiovascular mortality, countries where this is predominant drinking pattern should display positive association between spirits consumption and cardiovascular mortality at the aggregate level. PURPOSE: To estimate the aggregate level beverage specific effect of alcohol sale on myocardial infarction mortality rate in drinking culture, which combine a higher level of spirits consumption per capita with the explosive drinking pattern. METHOD: Trends in beverage specific alcohol sale per capita and myocardial infarction mortality rate from 1970 to 2005 in Belarus were analyzed employing ARIMA time series analysis. RESULTS: The results of time series analysis suggest positive relation between strong spirits (vodka) sale per capita and myocardial infarction mortality rate. The analysis suggests that a 1 liter increase in vodka sale per capita would result in a 7.2% increase in myocardial infarction mortality rate (8.2% increase in male mortality and 6.8% increase in female mortality). CONCLUSIONS: the results of the present study suggest a positive relation between vodka sale and myocardial infarction mortality rate at aggregate level and support the hypothesis that binge drinking of strong spirits is a risk factor of myocardial infarction at the individual level. Thus, from a public policy point of view, the outcome of this study suggests that cardiovascularrelated mortality prevention programs should put more focus on addressing alcohol consumption structure.

Alcohol psychoses and all-cause mortality in Belarus.

BACKGROUND: The burden of alcohol-related problems in central and eastern Europe is the highest in the world. The level of alcohol consumption in Belarus is among the highest in the world, with an annual consumption rate estimated to be 14 litres of pure alcohol per capita. The social, economic and political turmoil that Belarus has experiences in the years following the dissolution of the Soviet Union has been accompanied by a substantial rise in all-cause mortality. Although alcohol seems to be an important contributor to the burden of disease in the former Soviet republics, little systematic research has been undertaken on its impact on all-cause mortality in Belarus. AIMS: The aim of the present study was to address this particular deficit concerning the alcohol-total mortality relationship in Belarus by using aggregate-level data. METHOD: Trends in the all-cause mortality and alcohol psychoses incidence rates (as a proxy for alcohol consumption) from 1970 to 2005 were analyzed employing ARIMA time series analysis in order to asses bivariate relationship between the two time series. RESULTS: The results of time series analysis suggest a close relationship between all-cause mortality and alcohol psychoses rates at the aggregate level. CONCLUSIONS: This study replicates the previous findings that suggested close link between alcohol and mortality. The outcome of present study also supports the hypothesis that alcohol is a crucial factor of mortality crisis in Belarus. Therefore, alcohol control must be a key priority for Belorussian public health policy.