Can Treatment or AA Lower Mortality Risk in People With Alcohol Use Disorders?
The risk of death is higher in people with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) than in those without. To determine whether professional treatment or participation in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) could decrease this risk, researchers assessed rates and predictors of mortality over 16 years in 628 patients (53% men; 81% white) who sought help for their AUDs for the first time at study entry. During follow-up, 121 patients died. The overall death rate was 22% for men and 17% for women. Sixty-eight percent of patients with a known cause of death died from an alcohol-related condition.
