Average Annual Number of Deaths From Excessive Alcohol Use Increasing

From 2016-2017 to 2020-2021, deaths from excessive alcohol use increased 26.8 and 34.7 percent among males and females

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Feb. 29, 2024 (HealthDay News) — From 2016-2017 to 2020-2021, there was an increase in the average annual number of deaths from excessive alcohol use, according to research published in the Feb. 29 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Marissa B. Esser, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues estimated the average annual number and age-standardized rate of deaths from excessive alcohol use in the United States based on 58 alcohol-related causes of death during 2016-2017, 2018-2019, and 2020-2021.

The researchers found that from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021, there was a 29.3 percent increase in the average annual number of deaths from excessive alcohol use, from 137,927 to 178,307; there was an increase seen in age-standardized alcohol-related death rates from 38.1 to 47.6 per 100,000 population. Deaths from excessive alcohol use increased 26.8 and 34.7 percent among males and females, respectively, during this time (from 94,362 to 119,606 and from 43,565 to 58,701 per year, respectively).

“States and communities can discourage excessive alcohol use and reverse recent increases in alcohol-attributable deaths by implementing comprehensive strategies, including evidence-based alcohol policies that reduce the availability and accessibility of alcohol and increase its price,” the authors write.