Stop Analyzing Suicides, Drug- and Alcohol-Related Mortality Together: Response to “Are We Undercounting the True Burden of Mortality”
Tilstra AM.
Abstract A recent article from Spark et al. (Am J Epidemiol. AJE-01123-2021.R3) estimates the undercount of deaths due to suicides, drug- and alcohol-related mortality in a Colorado veteran population and argues for a standardized case definition for the three causes. A case definition for these three causes implies they should be analyzed together. This is problematic given the disparate trends in and historical context behind the three causes of death.