A new study has revealed that the number alcohol-related deaths annually in the US have more than doubled between 1999 and 2017.
The study, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, found that the number of alcohol-related deaths in the US has gone up by more than double. The researchers even consider this as an under-count.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism researchers examined data from death certificates from 1999 to 2017 and determined that the number of people who died from alcohol-related problems has increased by 50.9% from 16.9 to 25.5 per 100,000.
This translates to nearly 1 million deaths during the period. The number of deaths in 1999 was at 35,914 while by 2017, it is at 72,558. The researchers discovered that 2.6% of about 2.8 million deaths in the US in 2017 were alcohol-related.
Research results indicated that around half of the deaths were from liver disease or an overdose from alcohol or alcohol mixed with other drugs. While men died at a higher rate than women, the largest annual increase in deaths was among non-Hispanic white women.
The numbers showed that the death rate for people between the ages of 55 and 64 have also went up and that rates were higher among non-Hispanic American Indians and Alaska natives.
Dr. Elliot Tapper, who has used the same data working on similar studies, agreed with the results of the research. He said: "When multiple researchers come to the same conclusion using different methods, I can tell you for certain these results are valid."
Dr. Taper, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, added that the increase in alcohol consumption in the US is more harmful due to the increased prevalence of obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
He pointed out: "This is true for people who are 18 years old, just like it is true for people who are 65."
He also said that people are drinking stronger drinks and mentioned: "I live in a college town and I see college kids drinking products that are sweeter, easier to drink and have a higher percentage of alcohol."
