A new Canadian study finds that the risk of being hospitalized because of a violent assault is higher among individuals who live near alcohol outlets with rising sales, Science Daily reported May 14.

Researchers compared sales at government-run liquor stores in Ontario -- where most alcohol in the province is sold -- to hospital records of admissions for violent assault. They found that the risk of being hospitalized as an assault victim rose 13 percent for every doubling of alcohol sales at local stores.

The risk of being violently assaulted was 41 percent higher during periods of peak alcohol sales than when sales are at their lowest, according to researcher Joel Ray and colleagues at the University of Toronto and the Institute for Clinical Evaluation Sciences.

Men, youths ages 13-20, and residents of urban areas were at the highest risk of assault, the researchers found.

"The findings suggest that the relevant officials should consider restricting availability of alcohol from retail stores if they wish to reduce the likelihood of violence in their area of jurisdiction," wrote  Russell Bennetts and Rachel Seabrook of the Institute of Alcohol Studies in London in an accompanying commentary.

The study was published in PLoS Medicine.