More than 20 percent of deaths in the United States are attributable to alcohol.
Nearly 13 percent of all deaths among young and middle-aged adults in the United States were caused by drinking too much alcohol, a new study finds. Among adults between the ages of 20 and 49 years, excessive alcohol consumption caused more than 20 percent of all deaths.
Researchers reviewed alcohol consumption data from more than 2 million people living in the United States between 2015 and 2019. Then they looked at the rates and causes of death during the same period.
They found that 12.9 percent of all deaths among adults aged 20 to 64 years were attributable to excessive alcohol consumption. Men were roughly 50 percent more likely to die from alcohol-related deaths than women. When they limited the age range to 20 to 49 years, they found that 20.3 percent of deaths were attributable to excessive alcohol consumption.
Alcohol affects multiple organ systems. Drinking too much alcohol is linked with many leading causes of death, including heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, and liver disease.
This study shows that alcohol contributed to nearly one in eight deaths among adults living in the United States. However, the researchers noted that the data for this study pre-date the COVID pandemic, during which many people reported drinking more alcohol, so the current number of alcohol-related deaths might now be higher. Learn how exercise can help reduce cravings for alcohol.
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