Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
Lead Story: Estimated Deaths Attributable to Excessive Alcohol Use Among US Adults Aged 20 to 64 Years, 2015 to 2019
JAMA Network Open
This cross-sectional study sought to estimate the mean annual number of deaths from excessive alcohol use relative to total deaths among adults 20 to 64 years of age. Alcohol-attributable deaths accounted for an estimated 20.3% of total deaths among adults 20 to 49 years of age. By state, alcohol-attributable deaths ranged from 9.3% of total deaths in Mississippi to a high of 21.7% in New Mexico. Findings suggest that alcohol-attributable deaths were responsible for 1 in 8 deaths among adults 20 to 64 years of age, and 1 in 5 deaths among adults 20 to 49 years of age. The authors suggest that these death rates could be reduced with increased implementation of evidence-based policies, such as increasing alcohol taxes or regulating alcohol outlet density.