Background In Brazil, alcohol use is a leading risk factor for injury contributing to over 8% of DALYs lost. While alcohol consumption increases with income, there is an inverse risk of alcohol-attributable mortality with socioeconomic status (SES). Education is an important measure of SES; yet its effect on risk for non-fatal injury is unclear. This project investigates education level most at risk for alcohol positive injury in Maringá, Brazil.

Methods Self-reported alcohol usage two hours prior to injury was collected during a survey on treatment-seeking behaviour following injury in Maringá, Brazil between May and September 2015. Households provided demographics, and one randomly selected household member supplied injury history. Alcohol usage prior to injury and demographics were analysed using frequencies and logistic regression. Risk ratios were calculated using primary school incomplete, the lowest risk group, as reference.

Results Of 2678 people surveyed, 797 reported injury. Only 56 (7.02%) reported alcohol use of which 85.7% were male. Of all alcohol-attributable injured patients, 3 (5.4%) did not complete primary school, 8 (14.3%) completed primary school, 12 (21.4%) completed secondary school, and 15 (26.8%) completed professional school. Those who completed primary education and professional education were at similar risk for alcohol-attributable injuries. Completing primary school (RR = 4.14, p = 0.032) and professional school (RR = 3.43, p = 0.047) had the highest risk of alcohol-induced non-fatal injury.

Conclusions Alcohol use is a major risk factor for injury and is influenced by education. While our sample size is small and only includes non-fatal injuries, it mirrors the general pattern of alcohol usage seen in Brazil. We found low and high levels of education were at highest risk for alcohol-related injury. Our data suggests an indirect dependence of education on alcohol-induced injury however this relationship requires more in depth research.