External causes related to alcohol registered by the Institute of Forensic Medicine in the city of Rio de Janeiro

This research aimed to identify risk factors associated with the circumstances involving blood alcohol in the city of Rio de Janeiro in the period 1998−2005. The variables used for the cases considered positive with blood alcohol measurement taking into account the limit set by the Brazilian Traffic Code in effect during the period (≥0.6 g/L) were Human Development Index (HDI) 2000, the incidents recorded by the Institute of Forensic Medicine, average age, average alcohol concentration of victims. The variable average alcohol concentration was significant (p<0.001) explaining 38% of the variation in cases of drowning, as well as the HDI (p=0.008) explained 29% of the variation in cases with victims of the projectile from a firearm. Inverse relationships were obtained for the variable HDI when combined with the circumstances that pertained to violence ("Aggression", "Victim of the projectile of a firearm" and "Hanging"). Therefore, is possible to assume that the deaths from these conditions of violence increases when the HDI is lower. Moreover, the findings of this study indicated that the municipalities not bordering the sea have higher rates of "Drowning", corroborating the literature.