U.S. drinking deaths double in two decades

WASHINGTON >> Deaths from boozing and bingeing more than doubled in the past two decades as alcohol consumption per person rose 8%, with sharp increases in the rate for women and the middle-aged.

Men were three-quarters of the total but fatalities for women rose at a faster rate: 85% versus 39% for males, according to 1999-2017 research by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Total U.S. alcohol deaths reached 72,558 in 2017 — up from 35,914 in 1999 — with almost a third tied to liver disease, according to the study. Over 18 years, the total was almost 1 million.

“The report is a wakeup call to the growing threat alcohol poses to public health,” Director George Koob of the institute said Friday in a statement. “Alcohol-related deaths involving injuries, overdoses and chronic diseases are increasing across a wide swath of the population.”

Higher rates of deaths among middle-aged and older drinkers may raise concerns for public health experts, given projected growth the population of people 65 and older to 95 million in 2060 from 51 million in 2017. Alcohol accounted for 2.6% of all deaths in 2017.

“Even if rates of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms stay the same, the number of alcohol-related healthcare visits and fatalities could increase substantially, thereby increasing the overall burden of alcohol on public health,” according to the research published in “Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.”

Among women, the highest rate of alcohol-related deaths in 1999 was among 65- to 74-year-olds, followed by 55-64. By 2017, women ages 55-64 led, followed by ages 45-54. The annual increase of death for women jumped to 5.2% a year in 2010-17 from 2.1% a year in 1999-2010, the research-based death certificates showed.

“The rapid increase in deaths involving alcohol among women is troubling and parallels the increases in alcohol consumption among women over the past few decades,” Koob said.