Newswise, September 13, 2016— Suicide was the tenth leading
cause of death in the United States in 2013. There is clear evidence that
intoxication and chronic, heavy drinking are often associated with suicide.
While alcohol policies are known to be effective in reducing excessive
drinking, this review undertakes a critical look at the literature on the
relationship between alcohol policies and suicide.
The authors summarize the associations between various types
of alcohol policies and suicide, both in the U.S. and internationally, as found
in English-language literature published between 1999 and 2014. Overall, a
number of studies suggest that restrictive alcohol policies have a protective
effect on reducing suicide at a general population level. Due to substantial
between-states variation in alcohol policies, U.S.-based studies contributed
substantially to the literature.
The findings highlight the importance of population-based
alcohol policies in suicide prevention. Better implementation of effective
alcohol policies can reduce alcohol availability at a population level, which
in turn, reduces the average risk of suicide, especially in those cases where
alcohol is involved.
This is consistent with the prevention paradox, which posits
that the majority of cases of a health condition arise from members at low or
moderate risk of the disease, while members at high risk only contribute a
minority of cases.
This population-based approach is likely to maximize public
health benefits and have a long-lasting influence on reducing suicide. This is
because this population-based approach is likely to shift the distribution of
population suicide risk in a favorable (lower) direction.
The authors point out that the literature has a number of
methodological limitations, such as measurement and selection bias, and a
restricted focus, in which the effects of a limited number of alcohol policies
are considered without accounting for other alcohol policies.
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