Abstract
This paper reports the extent to which alcohol consumption is associated with casualties in a country in which alcohol is prohibited religiously and culturally. Selective screening of particular casualty groups by blood test established qualitative evidence of alcohol use in 107 out of 1058 patients (10%) examined at a general hospital and a traumatology hospital in Kuwait. The rate of alcohol-associated casualty was significantly higher in traumatology hospital patients (15%) than in general hospital (7%), stressing the association between alcohol and trauma. Absence of differences by place of casualty disproves lay beliefs that motor vehicle casualty is the major alcohol-associated risk in Kuwait. Other casualties, particularly work and domestic injuries, should be regarded as being affected by alcohol consumption. Statistically significant high alcohol-associated casualty rates characterized Kuwaitis (14%), the unemployed/retired (20%) and coma cases (22%) suggesting that these categories may suffer from serious alcohol problems.
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