U.S. Drinking Deaths Double in 2 Decades With Faster Rate for Women: Study

Deaths from boozing and bingeing more than doubled in the past two decades, as alcohol consumption per person rose 8%, with sharp increases in the rate for women and the middle-aged. Men were three-quarters of the total but fatalities for women rose at a faster rate: 85% versus 39% for males, according to 1999-2017 research by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Total U.S. alcohol deaths reached 72,558 in 2017 — up from 35,914 in 1999 — with almost a third tied to liver disease, according to the study. Over 18 years, the total was almost 1 million. “The report is a wakeup call to the growing threat alcohol poses to public health,” Director George Koob of the institute said Friday in a statement. “Alcohol-related deaths involving injuries, overdoses and chronic diseases are increasing across a wide swath of the population.” Higher rates of deaths among middle-aged and older drinkers may raise concerns for public health experts, given projected growth the population of people 65 and older to 95 million in 2060 from 51 million in 2017. Alcohol accounted for 2.6% of all deaths in 2017. “Even if rates of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms stay the same, the number of alcohol-related health-care visits and fatalities could increase substantially, thereby increasing the overall burden of alcohol on public health,” according to the research published in “Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Researc...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized onetime public health Source Type: news