The association between the incidence of emergency department attendances for alcohol problems and assault incidents attended by police in New South Wales, Australia, 2003-2008: a time series analysis

  • Date published: 01 Aug 2011
  • Author: Joseph Descallar, David Muscatello, Don Weatherburn, Matthew Chu, Steve Moffatt
  • Publication series: General report series
  • Subject: Sexual violence, Statistical methods and modelling, Alcohol, Night time economy
Supporting documents

Summary

Aim

To assess the short‐term temporal relationship between emergency department (ED) attendances for acute alcohol problems and assaults reported to police.
 

Key findings

There was no time lag found between the ED and police series. A weekly increase of 100 attendances in people aged 15 years and above to EDs for alcohol problems was associated with an 11% [95% confidence interval (CI): 7–15%] increase in the number of incident assaults attended by police. The relationship was similar and statistically significant for domestic and non‐domestic assaults and urban areas. The association was stronger between ED attendances and persons of interest aged 15–24 years (27%, 95% CI: 15–41%), 15–24‐year‐old males (39%, 95% CI: 16–66%) and 15–24‐year‐old females (66%, 95% CI: 20–129%).
 

Conclusion

There is a clear, short‐term temporal association between independent population‐level markers of excessive alcohol use and violence.
Last updated:

16 Aug 2024