Temporal changes in geographical disparities in alcohol-attributed disease mortality before and after implementation of the alcohol tax policy in Taiwan

BMC Public Health

Tzai-Hung Wen²  Chih-Ming Lin¹ 

[1] Department of Healthcare Information and Management, Ming Chuan University, Taoyuan, Taiwan;Department of Geography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

关键词: Spatial analysis;    Alcohol taxation;    Mortality;    Alcohol-attributed disease;   

Others  :  1162948
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-12-889

 received in 2012-03-30, accepted in 2012-10-18,  发布年份 2012

【 摘 要 】

Background

Taxation of alcohol-containing products may effectively reduce alcohol consumption. However, whether alcohol taxation may lead to a decrease in alcohol-attributed disease mortality (ADM) remains unclear. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of alcohol tax policy in 2002 in Taiwan on temporal changes in geographical disparities in ADM before and after implementation of the policy.

Methods

Local spatial statistical methods were used to explore the geographic variations in ADM rates and identify statistically significant clusters among townships.

Results

Our results indicate that the areas with the highest rates of ADM (127-235 deaths per 100,000 people) were located in mountainous regions, and the areas with the lowest rates of ADM (less than 26 deaths per 100,000 people) were clustered in the most populated areas. The areas where the rates of ADM significantly declined after alcohol taxation was initiated were clustered in the central, southwest and northeast parts of the country.

Conclusions

This study provides evidence of a township-level relationship between the reduction of ADM and alcohol taxation in Taiwan.

【 授权许可】

   
2012 Lin and Wen; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Alcohol misuse needs a global response Lancet 2009, 373(9662):433-433.
• [2]Mokdad AH, Marks JS, Stroup DF, Gerberding JL: Actual causes of death in the United States, 2000. Jama-J Am Med Assoc 2004, 291(10):1238-1245.
• [3]Midanik LT, Chaloupka FJ, Saitz R, Toomey TL, Fellows JL, Dufour M, Landen M, Brounstein PJ, Stahre MA, Brewer RD, et al.: Alcohol-attributable deaths and years of potential life lost - United States, 2001 (Reprinted from MMWR, vol 53, pg 866-870, 2004). Jama-J Am Med Assoc 2004, 292(23):2831-2832.
• [4]Rehm J, Mathers C, Popova S, Thavorncharoensap M, Teerawattananon Y, Patra J: Alcohol and Global Health 1 Global burden of disease and injury and economic cost attributable to alcohol use and alcohol-use disorders. Lancet 2009, 373(9682):2223-2233.
• [5]Markowitz S, Grossman M: The effects of beer taxes on physical child abuse. J Health Econ 2000, 19(2):271-282.
• [6]Markowitz S, Chatterji P, Kaestner R: Estimating the impact of alcohol policies on youth suicides. J Ment Health Policy Econ 2003, 6(1):37-46.
• [7]Markowitz S: Alcohol, drugs and violent crime. Int Rev Law Econ 2005, 25(1):20-44.
• [8]Ponicki WR, Gruenewald PJ: The impact of alcohol taxation on liver cirrhosis mortality. J Stud Alcohol 2006, 67(6):934-938.
• [9]Pridemore WA, Snowden AJ: Reduction in Suicide Mortality Following a New National Alcohol Policy in Slovenia: An Interrupted Time-Series Analysis. Am J Public Health 2009, 99(5):915-920.
• [10]Wagenaar AC, Maldonado-Molina MM, Wagenaar BH: Effects of Alcohol Tax Increases on Alcohol-Related Disease Mortality in Alaska: Time-Series Analyses From 1976 to 2004. Am J Public Health 2009, 99(8):1464-1470.
• [11]Elder RW, Lawrence B, Ferguson A, Naimi TS, Brewer RD, Chattopadhyay SK, Toomey TL, Fielding JE, Preventive TFC: The Effectiveness of Tax Policy Interventions for Reducing Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Related Harms. Am J Prev Med 2010, 38(2):217-229.
• [12]Wagenaar AC, Tobler AL, Komro KA: Effects of Alcohol Tax and Price Policies on Morbidity and Mortality: A Systematic Review. Am J Public Health 2010, 100(11):2270-2278.
• [13]Makela P: Alcohol-related mortality as a function of socio-economic status. Addiction 1999, 94(6):867-886.
• [14]Erskine S, Maheswaran R, Pearson T, Gleeson D: Socioeconomic deprivation, urban-rural location and alcohol-related mortality in England and Wales. BMC Publ Health 2010, 10:99. BioMed Central Full Text
• [15]Emslie C, Mitchell R: Are there gender differences in the geography of alcohol-related mortality in Scotland? An ecological study. BMC Publ Health 2009, 9:58. BioMed Central Full Text
• [16]Lin CM, Liao CM, Li CY: A Time-Series Analysis of Alcohol Tax Policy in Relation to Mortality from Alcohol Attributed Causes in Taiwan. J Commun Health 2011, 36(6):986-991.
• [17]Lu TH, Chang HY, Hwu CM, Chiu HC, Yin WH, Pan WH: Comparison of official coders versus physician panel in assignment of underlying cause of death. J Formos Med Assoc 2001, 100(6):365-369.
• [18]Rehm J, Patra J, Popova S: Alcohol-attributable mortality and potential years of life lost in Canada 2001: implications for prevention and policy. Addiction 2006, 101(3):373-384.
• [19]Ahmad OB, Policy GPoEfH: Age standardization of rates: a new WHO standard. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2001.
• [20]Getis A, Ord JK: The analysis of spatial association by use of distance statistics. Geogr Analysis 1992, 24(3):189-206.
• [21]Blomgren J, Martikainen P, Makela P, Valkonen T: The effects of regional characteristics on alcohol-related mortality - a register-based multilevel analysis of 1.1 million men. Soc Sci Med 2004, 58(12):2523-2535.
• [22]Singh GK, Hoyert DL: Social epidemiology of chronic liver disease and cirrhosis mortality in the United States, 1935-1997: Trends and differentials by ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and alcohol consumption. Hum Biol 2000, 72(5):801-820.
• [23]Corrao G, Rubbiati L, Bagnardi V, Zambon A, Poikolainen K: Alcohol and coronary heart disease: a meta-analysis. Addiction 2000, 95(10):1505-1523.
• [24]Rehm J, Greenfield TK, Rogers JD: Average volume of alcohol consumption, patterns of drinking, and all-cause mortality: Results from the US national alcohol survey. Am J Epidemiol 2001, 153(1):64-71.
• [25]Rosenberg SD, Goodman LA, Osher FC, Swartz MS, Essock SM, Butterfield MI, Constantine NT, Wolford GL, Salyers MP: Prevalence of HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C in people with severe mental illness. Am J Public Health 2001, 91:31-37.
• [26]Ko YC, Huang YL, Lee CH, Chen MJ, Lin LM, Tsai CC: Betel Quid Chewing, Cigarette-Smoking and Alcohol-Consumption Related to Oral-Cancer in Taiwan. J Oral Pathol Med 1995, 24(10):450-453.
• [27]May PA, Gossage JP: New data on the epidemiology of adult drinking and substance use among American Indians of the northern states: male and female data on prevalence, patterns, and consequences. Am Indian Alsk Native Ment Health Res 2001, 10(2):1-26.
• [28]Chen KT, Chen CJ, Fagot-Campagna A, Narayan K: Tobacco, betel quid, alcohol, and illicit drug use among 13-to 35-year-olds in I-Lan, rural Taiwan: prevalence and risk factors. Am J Public Health 2001, 91(7):1130.
• [29]Liang C, Chou T, Ho P, Shieh T, Yang Y: Prevalence rates of alcohol drinking in Taiwan. Taiwan J Oral Med Health Sci 2001, 20(2):91-104.
• [30]Chaloupka FJ, Grossman M, Saffer H: The effects of price on alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Alcohol Res Health 2002, 26(1):22. − +
• [31]Babor T: Alcohol and public policy: no ordinary commodity. New York: Oxford University Press; 2003.
• [32]Anderson P, Chisholm D, Fuhr DC: Alcohol and Global Health 2 Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of policies and programmes to reduce the harm caused by alcohol. Lancet 2009, 373(9682):2234-2246.
• [33]Naveau S, Giraud V, Borotto E, Aubert A, Capron F, Chaput JC: Excess weight risk factor for alcoholic liver disease. Hepatology 1997, 25(1):108-111.
• [34]Leon DA, McCambridge J: Liver cirrhosis mortality rates in Britain from 1950 to 2002: an analysis of routine data. Lancet 2006, 367(9504):52-56.
• [35]Wrigley N: Quantitative geography: a British view. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd; 1981.