Alcohol Ups Risk for Intracranial Hemorrhage in Seniors With Fall-Related Head Injury

THURSDAY, Aug. 15, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Self-reported alcohol use appears to be associated with a higher risk for intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) in older adults with a fall-related head injury, according to a study published online July 31 in the Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open.

Alexander Zirulnik, M.D., from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues examined the association between self-reported alcohol use and the prevalence of ICH in older emergency department head trauma patients. The analysis included 3,128 participants in the Geriatric Head Trauma Short Term Outcomes Project. 

The researchers found that 18.2 percent of participants reported alcohol use (10.3 percent occasional use, 1.9 percent weekly use, and 6.0 percent daily use). In patients who used alcohol, ICH was more common (20.5 percent for occasional, 22.0 percent for weekly, and 25.1 percent for daily alcohol use versus 12.0 percent for nonusers). Frequency of alcohol use was independently associated with ICH, when adjusting for patient and head injury risk factors (adjusted odds ratios for occasional, weekly, and daily alcohol use were 2.0, 2.1, and 2.5, respectively), indicating a dose-response effect. 

“Fall prevention strategies may need to consider alcohol mitigation as a modifiable risk factor,” the authors write. 

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