Men are typically at a higher risk of alcohol-related death, but the rates of women dying from alcohol have recently increased, according to a study published last week in the JAMA network.
“Temporal trends revealed an increase in alcohol-related deaths among both sexes, with a significantly higher rate of increase observed for female individuals than for male individuals,” said the study.
Researchers surveyed 605,948 alcohol-attributed deaths that occurred between 1999 and 2020 to conduct the study. While female alcohol-related deaths are increasing, males still had a higher overall burden, around three times more than females.
Alcohol-related mortality trends were stable from 1999 through 2007. Then, they increased around 3% per year from 2007 through 2018. From 2018 to 2020, they increased by 14.1% per year.
For women, alcohol-related mortality rates increased around 1% annually from 1999 to 2007 and then about 4.3% annually from 2007 to 2018.
From 2018 to 2020, the per year increase for women was 14.7%.
“Building on this existing knowledge, our analysis reveals a trend of increasing rates of alcohol-related deaths in both male and female individuals in recent years,” said the study authors. “However, female individuals have experienced a higher rate of increase compared with male individuals across different demographic categories, including race and ethnicity, age, cause, and region.”
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, research shows that alcohol use and misuse among women are increasing,” which it described as a ‘serious public health concern,” since “women who drink have a higher risk of certain alcohol-related problems compared to men.”
Women typically weigh less than men and have less water in their bodies. Therefore, their blood alcohol concentration is often higher from drinking less. Female drinkers are more vulnerable to hangovers and blackouts due to alcohol consumption.
“Adult women of legal drinking age can choose to not drink or to limit their intake to one drink or less in a day, when alcohol is consumed,” said the NIAA. “This amount is not intended as an average but rather as a daily limit,” and the institute said some women – such as pregnant women – should not consume any alcohol.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data updated in October showed that nearly half of adult women reported drinking alcohol in the 30 days before they were surveyed. Approximately 13% of adult women reported binge drinking, and 25% of that group said they did so at least weekly, with almost 18% of child-bearing age women (i.e., ages 18–44 years) admitting to binge drinking.
As of 2020, 9% of women overall and 17% of women aged 18 to 25 years had an alcohol use disorder, per the CDC. Those struggling with substance use issues can get help through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration hotline by calling or texting 988.
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