SUScreen - Alcohol and drug use among patients in Norway and Greenland

In reference to SDWG’s strategic vision to “improve physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing”, and UNs 2030 Sustainable Development Goals of “ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages”, SUScreen aims to facilitate international collaboration and improve our understanding of alcohol and substance use as risk factors for negative health outcomes among Arctic residents, and how traumatic experiences in childhood contribute to alcohol and substance use later on in life.

• This project will investigate and compare the prevalence of harmful use of alcohol and other psychoactive substances among hospitalized patients and ambulatory patients in Nuuk, Greenland and Kirkenes, Norway. In addition, we want to investigate if patients with harmful use of alcohol or other substances require more health care services, such as prolonged hospital stays or referral to specialized treatment.

• SUScreen seeks to develop connections and collaboration between health organizations in circumpolar areas with the aim of reducing harmful use of alcohol and psychoactive substances in the Arctic.

• The project aims to provide knowledge on the negative consequences of alcohol and psychoactive substance use on somatic and mental health among patients with somatic disease.

Few studies have investigated alcohol and psychoactive drug use in Greenland and the Arctic part of Norway or have looked at how the impact of alcohol burdens the health care system. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are known risk factors for negative health consequences later in life, including alcoholism, drug use, chronic and acute medical conditions, and poor self-rated health and mental health problems. Alcohol and substance use is negatively associated with health and well-being, and is an important driver for social inequality in health and preterm death.

Alcohol is casually linked to more than 230 3-digit ICD-10 diagnoses, including many forms of cancer, but also chronic diseases such as hypertension and type II diabetes, which are diseases that are rapidly increasing in Arctic regions. Greenland has one of the highest suicide rates in the worlds. A pattern of heavy episodic drinking (HED) is common among residents on Greenland, and is closely related to suicide, violence and accidents. Despite substance use being a risk factor for many diseases, it is extremely under-recognized in the health care sector today.