A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discovered that excessive drinking was the cause of one in 10 deaths among working-age adults.
Binge and excessive drinking tendencies may be more frequent in college, but individuals who continue those habits into the early stages of their professional career may be contributing to their own demise. For their study, the CDC examined mortality data and drinking habits between 2006 and 2010. After examining the data, they discovered that an average of 88,000 working-age adults died each year as a result of excessive drinking.
The study classified an individual as an excessive drinker if they self-reported that they were a binge drinker, consumed heavy amounts of alcohol each week, admitted to drinking while pregnant, or if a medical evaluation revealed severe organ damage caused by excessive alcohol intake.
The CDC noted that excessive alcohol consumption led to “long-term health effects such as liver disease and heart disease, as well as short-period effects such as violence, alcohol poisoning, car crashes and drowning.”
Lives Lost
Also included in their report was the number of years of potential life lost. By examining health factors, age and sex, researchers were able to estimate how many total years of life were lost as a result of excessive alcohol intake. Researchers found:
- Of the 87,798 annual deaths per year, individuals died roughly 30 years before their projected life expectancy.
- That number equates to 2,560,290 years of potential life lost each year.
- The most common causes of early death were liver disease and motor vehicle crashes.
Dr. Silverman comments
Just last week we featured a story on our blog about how alcohol increases a person’s odds of developing cancer, so I’m not too shocked by the results of this CDC study. Alcohol, especially in large and prolonged quantities, can do severe damage to your organs, and it can affect your decision making. The study does a good job examining deaths caused by medical complications and incidents like car crashes or violence.
Make good decisions when it comes to alcohol.
Related source: USA Today, CDC