Mortalidad por cirrosis hepatica, produccion y precio del vino en Chile, 1950-1982

Abstract

The author analyzes the influence of such variables as drinking and the price of alcoholic beverages on mortality from cirrhosis of the liver per 100 00 inhabitans in Chile on the basis of the data available for the period 1950-1982. This analysis is followed by a search for underlying relationships among the variables by regression techniques. The results show that 1) mortality from cirrhosis of the liver varies inversely with the real price of wine; 2) mortality from cirrhosis of the liver is apparently not dependent on the increase of national productive activity expressed in the rise of real per capita income, and 3) the absence of the variable "wine production" from the regression raises the statistical significance of the variable "real price". Finally, the authors refers to national policies to prevent an increase in per capita consumption of alcoholic beverages and to promote temperance so as to preserve the benefits of alcohol and minimize the injurious effects associated with its use