Analysis of the role of alcohol in mortality, particularly sudden unwitnessed death, in middle-aged men in Malmö, Sweden.

An analysis of the role of alcohol in death was made in an unselected population of middle-aged males in Malmö, Sweden. 347 deaths were investigated in the years 1975-1981 among males who had been invited to a preventive screening program. An alcoholic background was prominent in the males whose deaths were sudden and unwitnessed. In general, definite pathology was not demonstrable post mortem for such deaths. Their possible mechanisms are discussed.