High Risk of Alcoholism Deaths Seen in British Submariners

Submariners in Her Majesty’s Royal Navy have a below-normal risk of leukemia and lung cancer, despite possible exposure to radiation during their service. But they have an unusually high risk of death from alcoholism and accidents, according to a report in the March 13 Occupational and Environmental Medicine. They also had low levels of respiratory disease, probably because unusually healthy men are selected for service, according to researchers at the University of Southampton.

Deaths from accidental drownings among the submariners were three times the national average and from alcohol poisoning four times the normal rate, while deaths from cirrhosis of the liver occurred at twice the average rate.