Alcohol-related disease impact in Korea

Aims: Aims of this study are to describe the alcohol-attributable fractions of each disease and alcohol-related death impacts, and to estimate the life expectancy lost by drinking.

Design and samples: This is the cross-sectional study. The Korean national samples were selected randomly from the National Statistical Office' data-set. We had 'face-to-face interview plus sealed envelope' with every adult family members in the household from the August 10th to 25th, 2007. The questionnaire was asked the respondents to answer a series of questions about their alcohol use and associated health problems, demographic and background characteristics. In conducting the data analysis, 2,193 cases were used. Mortality data were collected from 'Annual Report on the Cause of Death Statistics' in 2005. The materials are all classifiable data, 135,405 cases of male and 110,106 cases of female.

Results: The Odds Ratio of the liver disease, like as steatosis, hepatic cirrhosis and hepatitis, also odds ratio of respiratory diseases, prostatitis, gastric ulcer, enteritis and pancreatitis are greater among the other diseases. Hepatic cirrhosis (67%), liver steatosis (72%), Enteritis (52%), pancreatitis (50%), and hepatitis (41%) have the highest the alcohol-attributable fractions among the other diseases. Alcohol-attributable fractions of other genitourinary disease (33%), other disease of respiratory system (27%), and Gastric ulcer (23%) are also somewhat high. The number of alcohol related deaths is 20,940 for male and 10,393 for female. The effect on life expectancy at birth of eliminating all causes of alcohol-related deaths is 2.32 years for male and 0.91 years for female.