Alcohol and injuries at an emergency room in beijing, China

This study aimed to describe the frequency of alcohol-related injury and the associated risk factors in Beijing. Five hundreds samples were selected using a proportionate sampling design between May 2008 and July 2008. The frequency and risk factors of alcohol-related injuries were assessed by cross-sectional and case-crossover methods, respectively. A total of 498 eligible patients were studied and 14.9% were classified as alcohol-related. The risks of sustaining an injury and a violent injury when alcohol was consumed were 1.75 times greater and 7.5 times greater, respectively. Ordinal logistic regression analysis revealed that only the level of education (OR: 0.591) and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) (OR: 4.167) was associated with alcohol-related violent injury when adjusted for covariates. The frequency of alcohol-related injury was high in injured patients. Alcohol use prior to injury is associated with an increased risk of injury, especially in intentional injury.