Change in alcohol outlet density and alcohol-related harm to population health (CHALICE): a comprehensive record-linked database study in Wales

Excess alcohol consumption has serious adverse effects on health and results in violence-related harm. This study investigated the impact of change in community alcohol availability on alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms to health, assessing the effect of population migration and small-area deprivation.

This complex interdisciplinary study found that important alcohol-related harms were associated with change in alcohol outlet density. Future work recommendations include defining a research standard for recording outlet data and classification of outlet type, the methodological development of residence-based density measures and a health economic analysis of model-predicted harms.