Aims: Little is known about age and gender distributions in alcohol-attributable mortality (AAM). The aim of this paper is to describe age and gender in AAM in a high per capita consumption country.
Methods: The AAM was determined using national mortality statistics and data on the prevalence of alcohol risk drinking from Germany. According to this approach, alcohol-attributable fractions (AF) of causes of death are estimated.
Results: In males, as well as females, more than 70% of the AAM cases are due to alcohol consumption as well as smoking. The mortality rates are highest in the age range 35-64 years with 25% of the total mortality in males, and 13% in females. The median age at death in AAM exclusively based on alcohol is 15 years below the median age at death in the male and 24 years below that in the female population.
Conclusions: Early intervention should be stressed.