Alcohol involvement in deaths arising from recreational swimming: summary of results from main studies
| Country and years | Population* | Swimming† | Alcohol determination criteria | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Study population for the whole study from which the swimming data come, plus relevant information about the activity of the subjects included in the results for this table (which attempts to only cover recreational swimming). | ||||
| †“n” represents the total number of persons in the study in the swimming (or similar) category. | ||||
| United States (New York), 1988–94; Browne et al, 20032 | All unintentional drownings | n = 214 | Death within 6 hours; blood taken with 24 hours of death | |
| Persons ⩾15 years; “swimming” | More than zero | 49% | ||
| >0.05 | 40% | Available for 111 (52%) | ||
| >0.10 | 35% | |||
| United States (California), 1974–85; Wintemute et al, 198832 | All drownings | n = 73 | Death within 6 hours; blood taken with 24 hours of death | |
| Persons ⩾20 years; “swimming, wading, diving” | More than zero | 63% | Available for 40 (55%) | |
| >0.05 | 55% | |||
| >0.10 | 40% | |||
| Canada, 1999; Canadian Red Cross Society, 200033 | All drowning deaths | n = 58 | “Blood testing”—no more details | |
| Persons ⩾15 years; “recreational swimming” | More than zero | 63% | Available for 40 (69%) | |
| >0.08 | 53% | |||
| United States (Maryland), 1968–72; Dietz and Baker 197434 | “Accidental” drownings | n = ? (total number not known) | “Blood tests”; body submerged less than 12 hours | |
| Persons ⩾15 years; “swimming” | More than zero | 79% | ||
| >0.10 | 64% | Available for 14 (unknown %) | ||
| >0.15 | 50% | |||
| Australia (Geelong), 1959–83; Plueckhahn, 198436 | “Accidental” drownings | n = ? (total number not known) | “Valid” blood alcohol levels in autopsy blood sample | |
| Persons ⩾15 years; “swimming or surfing” | More than zero | 37% | ||
| ⩾0.08 | 16% | Available for 43 (unknown % of swimming deaths, but available for 61% of all drownings) | ||
| ⩾0.15 | 16% | |||
| Australia (Geelong), 1967–71; Plueckhahn, 197235 | “Accidental” drownings | n = ? (total number not known) | “Valid” blood alcohol levels in autopsy blood sample | |
| Persons ⩾16 years; “swimming, etc” | More than zero | 43% | ||
| ⩾0.08 | 36% | Available for 14 (unknown % of swimming deaths, but available for 69% of all drownings) | ||
| ⩾0.15 | 36% | |||
| South Africa (Cape Town), 1980–83; Davis and Smith, 198537 | All drownings | n = 87 | Alcohol present in autopsy blood sample | |
| Persons ⩾16 years; “swimming” | More than zero | 55% | Available for 87 (100%) | |
| United States (North Carolina), 1980–84; Patetta and Biddinger, 198838 | Unintentional drownings | n = ? (total number not known) | Alcohol present in autopsy blood sample | |
| Persons ⩾15 years; “swimming and wading” | >0.10 | >20% | Available for an unknown % of swimming deaths, but for 87% of all drownings | |
| United States (army soldiers), 1980–97; Bell et al, 20013 | Non-intentional drownings | n = 352 | Alcohol information obtained from investigative reports. No blood alcohol values presented. | |
| Active male soldiers ⩾18 years; 83% associated with recreation, particularly swimming (40%), boating (15%) and diving (6%) | “Contributed” to 31% of all cases, and 58% of cases with information on blood alcohol | Available for 187 (53%) | ||
| Denmark, 1989–93; Steensberg, 199839 | “Accidental” drowning deaths | n = 33 | Information on alcohol involvement from the death certificate summary Available for an unknown % of swimming deaths | |
| Persons ⩾15 years; “bathing or swimming” | “Under the influence” | 36% | ||