Who Answers?
The opioid epidemic in the US has taken center stage in the news in recent years. But a recent report suggests an alarming surge in deaths linked to alcohol in the last two decades.
The report studied US government data collected between 1999 to 2020. The data show that death rates related to alcohol increased for both men and women in every age group. Men continue to die in higher numbers than women. In the two decade span of the study alcohol related deaths in men more than doubled.
For women the statistics are even more startling. Mortality rates for women increased at a significantly higher pace than for men in the same period. For women between the ages of 25 and 34, the death rate increased almost fourfold.
Researchers speculate that changing social norms and increasing accessibility have altered the landscape. The alcohol industry is also increasingly marketing to young adult women.
These rising death rates might be connected to the long term health impacts of alcohol abuse. Chronic heavy drinking significantly increases early death risk due to stroke and heart attack.
As rates of obesity and diabetes continue to increase so too do the harms of excessive alcohol consumption. Alcohol misuse is strongly associated with liver damage. Obesity and diabetes are also linked to liver damage. The three risk factors combined dramatically increase the risk of potentially life threatening liver disease and may account for the surge in alcohol related deaths in recent decades.
Drinking heavily could mean the difference between a long life and a short one. The disproportionate increase in alcohol related deaths among women may signal a need for more research and resources directed to women’s recovery.
