Deaths associated with excessive alcohol use have been rising over the past 20 years. But during 2020-2021 they went up dramatically—from an average of about 138 000 deaths during 2016-2017 to more than 178 000 deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. The change represents a 29% increase in lives lost, according to results published in the MMWR. Two-thirds of the deaths were from chronic conditions, including those directly related to heavy drinking, such as alcoholic cardiomyopathy and liver disease. These conditions also included diseases like cancer and heart problems that may increase when people drink more than the recommended limit. The remaining deaths resulted from binge drinking, including suicide and vehicle crashes. About 10 000 more males died each year from heavy alcohol use than females, but female deaths rose by 35% compared with a 27% rise in male deaths during the study period. Barriers to care for alcohol-related conditions, along with stress, loneliness, social isolation, and mental health conditions, might have contributed to the increase in deaths, the researchers wrote.
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", language="en", issn="0098-7484", doi="10.1001/jama.2024.4499", url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2024.4499" }