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Glossary
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A
Acute Causes of Death
Causes (i.e., illness or injury) with a very short latency period from the time of onset to the time of death.
Alcohol Consumption Levels
Levels of average daily alcohol consumption (i.e., low, medium, and high). The cut-points used to define the levels are based on cut-points set by the authors of the studies where the cause-specific relative risk estimates were drawn from, or standardized cut-points if relative risks were illustrated on a continuous curve in the study.
Alcohol-Attributable Deaths
Number of deaths from various causes that are directly attributable to alcohol.
AAD
See Alcohol-Attributable Deaths.
AAF
See Alcohol-Attributable Fraction.
Alcohol-Attributable Fraction
Proportion of deaths from a given cause that are attributable to alcohol.
ARDI
Alcohol-Related Disease Impact.
B
BAC
Blood Alcohol Concentration.
Beneficial Effects
Condition for which there has been a reported reduction in the risk of death at a particular alcohol consumption level.
BRFSS
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. A state-based system of health surveys of United States adults aged 18 years or older that is coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The system collects information on alcohol use and other health-related topics.
C
Cause of Death Abbreviation
Six-letter abbreviation used to identify a specific cause of death in the Custom Data section in ARDI.
CDC
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Chronic Causes of Death
Causes with a long latency period from the time of onset to the time of death.
Custom Data
Data uploaded or entered in by the user in the Custom Data section in ARDI. Custom data sets are not endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
D
Data Set
Collection of data elements (e.g., causes of death).
Default Data
Data set entered by the system administrator and available to all users.
Direct AAF
Alcohol-attributable fractions that are based on direct observations of the relationship between alcohol and a given health outcome. These estimates are generally based on the proportion of persons dying from a particular condition at or above a specified blood alcohol content or from follow-back studies that specifically assess prior alcohol use among persons dying of specific causes (e.g., liver cirrhosis).
F
FARS
Fatality Analysis Reporting System. An annual collection system of all motor-vehicle traffic crashes on United States roadways that is administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
I
ICD Codes
International Classification of Diseases. The alpha-numeric classification of morbidity and mortality developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). The death data included in ARDI are coded using the 10th revision of the ICD codes, also known as ICD-10.
Indirect AAF
Alcohol-attributable fractions calculated by ARDI using pooled risk estimates for alcohol-related causes of death at specific alcohol consumption levels and estimates of the prevalence of alcohol use at those same consumption levels.
L
Life Expectancy
Expected number of years of life remaining at a particular age.
Location
Refers to a specific geographic area. For ARDI, this is generally a state but could also refer to another area defined by the user in the Custom Data section.
M
Meta-analysis
Large systematic review of the literature used to summarize the results of multiple studies assessing the relationship between an exposure (e.g., alcohol) and a particular health outcome (e.g., breast cancer).
N
NCCDPHP
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
NHTSA
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The government agency that is primarily concerned with traffic safety.
P
Prevalence Data
Proportion of the population exhibiting a specific condition or engaging in a particular behavior (e.g., binge drinking) at a specified point in time.
Private Data
See Custom Data
Public Data
See Default Data
R
Registered User
Person who wants to enter or upload their own data in the Custom Data section of ARDI to calculate alcohol-attributable health impacts.
Relative Risk
Ratio of the risk of a disease or outcome in exposed individuals to the risk of the same disease or outcome in nonexposed individuals. For the purposes of ARDI, the exposure is average daily alcohol consumption and the outcome is death from a particular disease or condition.
Risk Estimates
See Relative Risk.
RR
See Relative Risk.
T
Total Deaths
Total number of deaths from a given cause (e.g., liver cirrhosis) that were reported in a given year.
U
Underlying Cause of Death
Disease, injury, or circumstance (e.g., hypothermia) that led directly to an individual’s death. Generally more medical information is reported on death certificates than is directly reflected in the underlying cause of death. Data on underlying cause of death are collected by states and reported to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Y
Years of Potential Life Lost
Measure of the impact of premature mortality. Calculated by subtracting the age at death from life expectancy. For ARDI, deaths and life expectancies are compiled using standard 5-year age groupings.
YPLL
See Years of Potential Life Lost.