[Causes of death in chronic alcoholism]. / Prichiny smerti bol'nykh khronicheskim alkogolizmom.

The authors analyzed the causes of death in patients with chronic alcoholism over the period of three years. The findings obtained show that the most frequent causes of mortality include injuries and accidents, suicides and acute alcohol intoxication. It was revealed that with the increasing duration of alcoholism there was a decrease in the proportion of the mortality rate from the mentioned factors whereas the mortality incidence secondary to somatic disease increased. In patients who had suffered alcoholic psychoses, the suicide-associated mortality occurred two times more frequently which is explained by more severe disorders of the social and psychological personality adaptation.