Alcohol as poison: a narrative review of social science scholarship relevant to methanol poisoning in low- and middle-income countries.

IF 2.2 4区 医学 Q3 SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Janet E Perkins, Knut Erik Hovda, Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury, Jane Brandt Sørensen, Michael Eddleston, Alice Street
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Abstract

Aims: Methanol poisoning is a tragic and avoidable health emergency that threatens life and often leads to irreversible disability. It primarily occurs when people unwittingly consume beverages contaminated with the chemical compound under the guise of alcoholic spirits. Although reliable data on its burden are unavailable, methanol poisoning is thought to be increasing globally, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Current scholarship related to methanol poisoning draws almost exclusively from clinical and epidemiological research traditions. In this article, and in the absence of anthropological scholarship examining methanol poisoning specifically, we provide a narrative review of anthropological and social science literature that bears on this growing phenomenon.

Methods: We bring key areas of anthropological thought and inquiry that coalesce around the social phenomenon of methanol poisoning in conversation with the clinical and epidemiological scholarship.

Results: We begin with a biographical account of methanol, an unlikely character which has become omnipresent in the material world. We then turn to a social scientific examination of alcohol consumption, to which methanol poisoning is tethered. We pay special attention to alcohol consumption in Muslim-majority settings, where alcohol is often proscribed, but methanol-related incidents are common. Subsequently, we examine the scholarship related to health systems and technologies, which come to bear on diagnostic and treatment encounters for those who have consumed toxic alcohol.

Conclusion: We argue that anthropological perspectives are urgently needed to contribute to a fuller understanding of methanol poisoning and to design socially sensitive clinical and public health responses to address this avertable scourge.

酒精是毒药:对低收入和中等收入国家有关甲醇中毒的社会科学研究的叙述性回顾。
目的:甲醇中毒是一种悲剧性和可避免的健康紧急情况,它威胁到生命并常常导致不可逆转的残疾。它主要发生在人们在不知情的情况下,以酒精的名义饮用了被这种化合物污染的饮料。虽然没有关于其负担的可靠数据,但甲醇中毒被认为正在全球范围内增加,特别是在低收入和中等收入国家。目前与甲醇中毒有关的学术研究几乎完全来自临床和流行病学研究传统。在本文中,由于缺乏专门研究甲醇中毒的人类学研究,我们对这一日益增长的现象进行了人类学和社会科学文献的叙述回顾。方法:我们将围绕甲醇中毒社会现象的人类学思想和调查的关键领域与临床和流行病学学术进行对话。结果:我们开始与甲醇的传记帐户,一个不太可能的字符已成为无所不在的物质世界。然后,我们转向酒精消费的社会科学检查,其中甲醇中毒是拴在一起的。我们特别关注穆斯林占多数的环境中的饮酒问题,在这些环境中,酒精往往是被禁止的,但与酒精有关的事件却很常见。随后,我们研究了与卫生系统和技术相关的奖学金,这些奖学金与那些饮用有毒酒精的人的诊断和治疗遭遇有关。结论:我们认为,迫切需要人类学的观点,以有助于更全面地了解甲醇中毒,并设计具有社会敏感性的临床和公共卫生反应,以解决这一可避免的祸害。
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来源期刊
Alcohol and alcoholism
Alcohol and alcoholism 医学-药物滥用
CiteScore
4.70
自引率
3.60%
发文量
62
审稿时长
4-8 weeks
期刊介绍: About the Journal Alcohol and Alcoholism publishes papers on the biomedical, psychological, and sociological aspects of alcoholism and alcohol research, provided that they make a new and significant contribution to knowledge in the field. Papers include new results obtained experimentally, descriptions of new experimental (including clinical) methods of importance to the field of alcohol research and treatment, or new interpretations of existing results. Theoretical contributions are considered equally with papers dealing with experimental work provided that such theoretical contributions are not of a largely speculative or philosophical nature.
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