The role of alcohol and drug intoxication in fatal drowning and other deaths that occur on the Australian coast

• Published in: Journal of safety research 2022-09, Vol.82, p.207-220
• Main Authors: Strasiotto, Luke, Ellis, Annabel, Daw, Shane, Lawes, Jasmin C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alcohol; Coastal environment; Drowning; Drugs; Injury prevention
• ISSN: 0022-4375; 1879-1247
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jsr.2022.05.012

•Toxicology contributes to more than 1 in 4 Australian coastal deaths.•Alcohol, benzodiazepines and amphetamines increase the risk of coastal deaths.•Standardised toxicology ratios were used to compared different drug classes.•Increased alcohol and drug intoxication for Australian born decedents.•Higher impact of toxicology for high risk activities and demographics. Introduction: Alcohol and drug (illicit or prescription) intoxication impairs motor skills, coordination, decision making abilities, hazard perception, and is known to increase the risk of death in coastal environments. Prior coastal safety research has focused largely on the impact of alcohol on drowning, with less research on the influence of drugs and leaving a significant number of other non-drowning fatalities largely excluded, despite being preventable with mitigation of injuries or medical factors. Method: This retrospective cross-sectional study explored the impact of alcohol and drugs on unintentional Australian drowning deaths and other coastal fatalities over a 16-year period to identify higher-risk populations and coastal activity groups for which alcohol/drug use is increased. Results: It was found that alcohol, benzodiazepines/sedatives, and amphetamine usage was prevalent in coastal deaths. Of the 2,884 coastal deaths, 80.6% of decedents had known toxicological data. Alcohol and/or drug intoxication contributed to 23% of coastal drowning deaths and 19% of fatalities. For drowning and other fatalities combined, 8.7% were due to alcohol, 8.7% due to drugs, and 4.1% due to both alcohol and drugs. Australian-born decedents were more likely to involve alcohol (RR = 1.7, 95%CI = 1.26–2.3, p