2. Methods
Printed documentation was searched in the MedLine and PsychInfo electronic databases. The following limits were set for the MEDLINE search: adults 19+ years, publication date from 1991 to 2009, articles with abstracts, and articles written in English. A variety of strategies were used to conduct a more detailed search. The most efficient search strategy was: (suicide OR suicide attempt OR ideation) AND (epidemiology OR rates OR trends OR incidence) AND (alcohol use OR alcohol intoxication OR alcohol drinking OR alcoholism OR alcohol use disorder OR alcohol dependent) AND (“prevention” OR “intervention” OR “implications for the future”).
To ensure that relevant publications were not missed, using the same limits specified earlier, each of the following terms was searched individually with “AND suicide”: alcohol use, alcohol use disorder, alcohol intoxication, alcohol drinking, alcoholism, alcohol acute dependent, inebriation, ethanol and alcohol consumption. PsycINFO was also searched using the same limits mentioned above. Duplicate articles were removed. Abstracts that did not explicitly mention suicide and alcohol use and articles that did not provide levels/measures of alcohol use specifically for suicides were excluded.