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Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Alcohol consumption in homicide victims in the city of São Paulo
Addiction Early View 5 Oct 2009

To assess the association between alcohol use and victimization by homicide in individuals autopsied at the Institute of Legal Medicine in São Paulo, Brazil.

Alcohol was detected in blood samples of 43% of the victims, and mean BAC levels were 1.55 ± 0.86 g/l. The prevalence of positive BAC levels was higher among men (44.1%) than women (26.6%). Firearms caused most of the deaths (78.6%), and alcohol consumption was greater among victims of homicide by sharp weapons .
A greater proportion of victims with positive BAC were killed at weekends compared to weekdays (56.4 and 38.5%, respectively;, and the correlation between homicide rates and the average BAC for the central area of the city was positive .
These results highlight alcohol as a contributing factor for homicide victimization in the greatest urban center in South America, supporting public strategies and future research aiming to prevent homicides and violence related to alcohol consumption.


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