Alcohol abuse as a potential risk factor of solitary death among people living alone: a cross-sectional study in Kyoto, Japan

BACKGROUND: Solitary death is an emerging public health problem in developed countries. Alcohol abuse is associated with social isolation and excess mortality. However, data on the association between alcohol abuse and solitary death are limited. Our purposes were to assess whether alcohol abuse is associated with a long interval from death to discovery among people living alone. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study using the data on subjects from the largest forensic database in Kyoto, Japan, from February 2012 to December 2015. Solitary death was defined as a phenomenon of dying alone at home and remaining undiscovered for more than 1 week. All the subjects who lived alone and aged over 18 at the time of death were included in the study. The presence of alcohol abuse was identified via an investigation during home visits. Proportional ratios were calculated using a fitted logit model to evaluate the association of alcohol abuse on solitary death after adjusting for possible confounders. RESULTS: A total of 235 subjects were included in the analysis. The mean age (standard deviation) of subjects at the time of death was 63.4 (15.1) years, and approximately 61.8% and 38.9% of subjects in the alcohol and non-alcohol abuse groups, respectively, experienced solitary death. Multivariable analyses revealed that alcohol abuse was associated with solitary death (adjusted proportion ratio: 1.50; 95% confidence interval: 1.12–2.00). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study could help identify individuals at higher risk of solitary death. Moreover, calling the attention of people with alcohol abuse may be beneficial to prevent solitary death. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-12965-9.