Alcohol is killing more Americans than ever.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reported nearly 1 million deaths from boozy causes between 1999 and 2017.
“Alcohol is not a benign substance and there are many ways it can contribute to mortality,” according to Institute director George F. Koob.
Injuries, overdoses, and chronic diseases appear to be the most popular.
In a study by NIAAA, researchers found that, in 2017 alone, nearly half of alcohol-related deaths were the result of liver disease (31 percent; 22,245 people) or an overdose on drink [alone or with other drugs] (18 percent; 12,954 people).
“The report is a wakeup call to the growing threat alcohol poses to public health,” Koob said in a statement.
Unsurprisingly, folks aged 45 to 74 boasted the highest rates of related expiry (that’s what a life on the bottle will do to you). But the biggest increases over time were actually among Millennials aged 25 to 34.
And while the agency offers no explanation for this increase in youngsters’ deaths, it’s probably safe to assume fatal accidents, lethal injuries, and overindulgence have something to do with it.
Cirrhosis and other liver diseases account for nearly one-third of alcohol-related deaths in the US (via Shutterstock/NIAAA)
Statistics related to age, race, and ethnicity began to blur by the end of the study period. But sex remained a constant.
Women—perhaps dispirited by society—are reportedly hitting the sauce more often: Alcohol-related deaths escalated among females (85 percent) over males (35 percent) between 1999 and 2017.
Ladies, I hate to break it to you, but we’re also at a greater risk than men for alcohol-related cardiovascular and liver disease, as well as insobriety.
“Alcohol is a growing women’s health issue,” Koob explained. “The rapid increase in deaths involving alcohol among women is troubling and parallels the increases in alcohol consumption among women over the past few decades.”
These findings, the NIAAA pointed out, come at a time of growing evidence that even one drink per day can contribute to a rise in the risk of breast cancer.
We just can’t win.
In most studies like this, the role of alcohol in deaths is vastly underreported: Since the NIAAA examined death certificates only, the actual number of booze-soaked deaths in 2017 may far exceed the 72,558 stated by the authors.
“Taken together, the findings of this study and others suggest that alcohol-related harms are increasing at multiple levels—from [emergency department] visits and hospitalizations to deaths,” Koob said.
“We know that the contribution of alcohol often fails to make it only death certificates,” he continued. “Better surveillance of alcohol involvement in mortality is essential in order to better understand and address the impact of alcohol on public health.”
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