Alcohol consumption and casualties: a comparison of emergency room populations in the United States and Mexico.

This study compares alcohol consumption and casualties in probability samples of emergency room populations in the U.S. and Mexico: four hospitals representative of a Bay Area California county (N = 3,609) and eight hospitals representative of Mexico City (N = 2,507). Both studies used similar methods and data collection instruments. Patients were breath analyzed and interviewed regarding self-reported alcohol consumption 6 hours prior to the injury or illness event, usual drinking patterns and alcohol-related problems. Similar associations of alcohol consumption and casualties were found between the two populations with positive admission breath-analyzer readings and moderate consumption being positively associated with injuries. Both samples reported higher rates of heavy drinking, drunkenness and alcohol-related problems than that found in general surveys of their respective populations. Differences found between the two samples were largely due to varying drinking patterns in the two cultures and to differing uses of the emergency room for treatment.