Alcohol-related deaths rise sharply in U.S., hitting women hardest

UPI
By Ernie Mundell, HealthDay News
February 29, 2024

Deaths where alcohol played a key role climbed sharply in recent years, hitting women even harder than men, new government data shows.

Between 2016 and 2021 (the latest numbers available), “the average number of U.S. deaths from excessive alcohol use increased by more than 40,000 [29%], to 178,000 per year,” reported a team from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Put another way, during 2020 and 2021, an average of 488 Americans died each day from excessive drinking, the report’s authors concluded.

The rate of increase appears to be accelerating: Between 2016 and 2019, deaths where alcohol was a factor rose by 5%, but between 2018 and 2021 they climbed by 23%.

Men continue to lose their lives to alcohol in greater numbers than women, the report found. However, the rate at which women are dying from excessive drinking is rising faster than that of men, the researchers found.

Over the study period, deaths from excessive alcohol use among women rose by about 35%, compared to about a 27% rise among men.

The new data looked at deaths directly linked to drinking — things like alcoholic liver disease or excessive intoxication — as well as more indirect causes, such as heavy drinking’s role in heart disease and stroke.