New data reveal ‘striking’ rise in alcohol-induced deaths

Key takeaways:

• Alcohol-induced deaths increased by 89% from 1999 to 2024, peaking in 2021.
• These deaths rose by 255% among women aged 25 to 34 years and by 188% among men aged 25 to 34 years.

Alcohol-induced deaths nearly doubled in the United States from 1999 to 2024, a new analysis published in PLOS Global Public Health showed.

The data show a need for “targeted prevention and treatment efforts,” especially for certain demographics that experienced disproportionally large increases, the researchers wrote.

“While we expected increases during the pandemic, the magnitude and persistence of alcohol-induced deaths were quite striking,” Maria R. D’Orsogna, PhD, an assistant adjunct professor at UCLA, told Healio.

The study is one of several in recent years to demonstrate the rising trends of alcohol-related deaths occurring over last couple decades, but some important questions have remained unanswered, like “whether alcohol-induced deaths have returned to their pre-pandemic levels,” D’Orsogna and colleagues wrote.

“We also thought that to have a more complete picture, it was important to understand how alcohol-induced deaths vary by race, sex, age, and geography, so we used these stratifications as well,” D’Orsogna said.

Findings

The researchers assessed yearly and monthly data, taken from the CDC’s National Vital Statistics System and the U.S. Census, to determine changes in alcohol-induced deaths from 1999 to 2024.

They found that alcohol-induced deaths overall rose by 89% during the study period, with fatalities peaking at 54,258 in 2021.

Deaths from alcohol in 2024 dropped to 13.2 fatalities per 100,000 but were still 11% higher vs. those in 2019.

Most of these deaths were attributable to alcoholic liver disease, followed by alcohol-related mental and behavioral disorders.

“Men are more impacted across all age and racial groups, but it was surprising that mortality rates are rising faster among females than male rates across all demographics,” D’Orsogna said.

Specifically, the greatest rise in alcohol-induced deaths overall between 1999 and 2024 was 255% among women aged 25 to 34 years, followed by 188% among men aged 25 to 34 years.

Native American and Alaskan Native populations were the most impacted among diverse groups, as the rates of alcohol-reduced fatalities among Native American and Alaskan Native men and women were three and four times higher than white men and women, respectively.

D’Orsogna and colleagues acknowledged that deaths due to chronic illnesses related to alcohol, like certain cancers, were not included in the analysis, “potentially underestimating the overall death burden.”

‘A major cause for concern’

The researchers wrote that the high rise in mortality among women vs. men “is a major cause for concern.”

“Intervention is particularly urgent given that elevated mortality is only one of many negative outcomes associated with excessive alcohol consumption, a crisis which impacts public health, safety, healthcare expenditures, and family stability,” they wrote.

They added that further research should analyze alcohol-induced deaths “in conjunction with drug-overdoses and suicides since they may share the same socio-economic drivers and have all been generally rising in recent years.”

D’Orsogna told Healio the rise in drinking and related mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic “suggests that social isolation played a significant role in exacerbating this public “I think it is important that as a society we try to promote meaningful social interactions, support networks, reduce the prevalence of solitary drinking and most of all make sure that everyone feels they have purpose and value,” she said.

She added alcohol “should be consumed sparingly, with an emphasis on quality and not quantity.”

“A glass of wine enhances social connection and complements meals and should not be seen as a means to cope with stress, and certainly not for intoxication,” D’Orsogna said.