Deaths from Excessive Alcohol Use - United States, 2016-2021.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Population-based epidemiological surveillance and attributable-fraction modeling study using national vital statistics.
PubMed 38421934 · doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7308a1
What was done
The CDC estimated the average annual number and age-standardized rates of deaths attributable to excessive alcohol use in the United States across three time periods: 2016–2017, 2018–2019, and 2020–2021. Estimates were generated using the CDC's Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI) application, incorporating 58 alcohol-related causes of death (both fully and partially attributable causes, including chronic conditions, injuries, and cancers).
What was found
- Average annual deaths from excessive alcohol use rose 29.3%, from 137,927 deaths per year during 2016–2017 to 178,307 deaths per year during 2020–2021. - The age-standardized alcohol-attributable death rate increased from 38.1 to 47.6 per 100,000 population. - Deaths among males increased by 26.8%, rising from 94,362 per year (2016–2017) to 119,606 per year (2020–2021). - Deaths among females increased by 34.7%, rising from 43,565 per year (2016–2017) to 58,701 per year (2020–2021).
Why it matters
This study quantifies the substantial surge in alcohol-related mortality in the US surrounding the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, capturing both fully and partially alcohol-attributable causes and highlighting a disproportionate rate of increase among females.
Limits
Estimates rely on indirect population-attributable fractions calculated via the ARDI application rather than direct individual-level toxicological or behavioral data on every death certificate. The abstract does not report data on specific underlying causes of death, state-level variations, racial/ethnic disparities, or confidence intervals for the modeled estimates.