New research suggests that neighborhoods with few bars and liquor stores tend to have lower rates of intimate partner violence.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest that that laws limiting what is called "alcohol outlet density" could offer one way to address violence within intimate relationships.

States and communities throughout the United States have enacted various laws to reduce excessive use of alcohol, including limiting outlet density, limiting hours and days of sale, and managing the pricing and taxation of alcoholic beverages. At the same time, studies have shown that alcohol is often a risk factor in incidents of partner violence. Thus, policies aimed at reducing excessive alcohol use may also have a beneficial effect on partner violence.

For the study, researcher Dennis Reidy and his colleagues reviewed 16 studies that looked at the effects of alcohol outlet density, hours and days of sale, and pricing/taxation of alcoholic beverages.

Investigators found that only one of those factors was consistently linked to rates of intimate partner violence: alcohol outlet density. (This is generally calculated as the number of on-premise establishments, such as bars and restaurants, and off-premise alcohol retailers, including liquor, grocery, and convenience stores, divided by square mile or number of people living in a given area.)

In most studies, communities with a higher concentration of alcohol sellers also had increased rates of partner violence. And that link held even when researchers accounted for factors like the local poverty and unemployment rates.

"The studies that we reviewed do not indicate that alcohol outlet density or the outlets themselves cause partner violence," Reidy said in a statement. "However, our findings suggest that local regulation of alcohol outlet density may be able to reduce rates of intimate partner violence within a community."

The CDC team uncovered little evidence that partner violence was curbed by two other alcohol policies: increases in alcohol prices/taxation and limits on sellers' days and hours of operation.

They said further research is needed to understand why these policy areas may have less effect on partner violence relative to outlet density.

The findings are detailed in the January issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.