Table 3.
Annual deaths due to excessive drinking,a overall, by sex, type of condition, and adjustment method
| Category of underlying cause of death and sex | BRFSS unadjusted (Method 1) | BRFSS adjusted using indexingb(Method 2) | BRFSS adjusted to NAS (Method 3) | BRFSS adjusted to NAS and 73% per capita salesc (Method 4) | BRFSS adjusted to 73% per capita salesc(Method 5) | BRFSS adjusted to 100% per capita sales (Method 6) | Estimate not affected by self-reported alcohol consumptiond |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall number of deaths because of excessive | |||||||
| alcohol consumption | 91,200 | 95,300 | 101,100 | 114,300 | 116,200 | 125,200 | – |
| Men | 64,800 | 67,800 | 69,400 | 77,200 | 80,200 | 85,900 | – |
| Women | 26,400 | 27,600 | 31,600 | 37,100 | 36,000 | 39,200 | – |
| Chronic conditions | 47,100 | 51,200 | 57,000 | 70,200 | 72,200 | 81,100 | – |
| 100% alcohol attributablee | – | – | – | – | – | – | 26,700 |
| Men | – | – | – | – | – | – | 19,500 |
| Women | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7,200 |
| Cancerf | 3,500 | 5,100 | 7,000 | 11,500 | 12,700 | 15,600 | – |
| Men | 2,800 | 4,100 | 5,000 | 8,300 | 9,600 | 11,900 | – |
| Women | 800 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 3,200 | 3,000 | 3,700 | – |
| Heart disease and strokeg | 6,600 | 9,000 | 12,800 | 21,300 | 22,000 | 27,900 | – |
| Men | 4,100 | 5,700 | 6,400 | 10,800 | 12,300 | 15,600 | – |
| Women | 2,500 | 3,400 | 6,400 | 10,500 | 9,700 | 12,200 | – |
| Conditions of the liver, | |||||||
| gallbladder, and pancreash | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | – |
| Men | 5,800 | 5,800 | 5,900 | 5,800 | 5,800 | 5,800 | – |
| Women | 4,200 | 4,200 | 4,200 | 4,200 | 4,200 | 4,200 | – |
| Other chronic conditionsi | 200 | 300 | 500 | 700 | 700 | 900 | – |
| Men | 200 | 200 | 300 | 500 | 600 | 700 | – |
| Women | 0 | 100 | 100 | 200 | 200 | 200 | – |
| Acute conditions | – | – | – | – | – | 44,100 | |
| Alcohol-related poisoningsj | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14,100 |
| Men | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9,300 |
| Women | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4,900 |
| Motor vehicle traffic crashes | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7,100 |
| Men | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5,500 |
| Women | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,600 |
| Suicidek | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9,900 |
| Men | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7,700 |
| Women | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,200 |
| Other acute conditionsl | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12,900 |
| Men | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9,800 |
| Women | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3,100 |
Notes: BRFSS = Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; NAS = National Alcohol Survey.
Because of rounding, the estimates in subgroups may not sum to totals. Estimates were rounded to the nearest hundred because the results reflect aggregated estimates. Cells with dashes indicate a non-applicable value.
The Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application currently uses an indexing procedure to include self-reported information on binge drinking episodes into the calculation of average daily alcohol consumption.
The target of adjusting self-reported alcohol consumption in surveys to reach 73% of per capita alcohol sales was determined so the coverage of alcohol consumption reported in surveys would be similar to that of U.S. cohort studies.
Some conditions are fully (100%) alcohol attributable (e.g., alcoholic liver cirrhosis) (i.e., alcohol-attributable fraction = 1.0), whereas others are partially alcohol attributable (e.g., breast cancer and hypertension) (i.e., alcohol-attributable fraction <1.0). The alcohol-attributable fractions for chronic conditions are generally calculated using relative risks from published meta-analyses and the prevalence of low, medium, and high average daily alcohol consumption among U.S. adults, based on the BRFSS; only conditions calculated using this method are affected by self-reported alcohol consumption. Conditions calculated in the following other ways are not affected by self-reported alcohol consumption, including (a) acute causes (e.g., injuries) in which the alcohol-attributable fractions are generally based on studies that measured the proportion of decedents who had a blood alcohol concentration ≥ .10 g/dl; (b) motor vehicle crash deaths in which the alcohol-attributable fractions are based on the proportion of crash deaths that involved a blood alcohol concentration ≥ .08 g/dl; and (c) 100% alcohol-attributable conditions in which the deaths are summed without adjustment.
In the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application, deaths included in the 100% alcohol-attributable chronic conditions category include those from alcohol abuse, alcoholic cardiomyopathy, alcohol dependence syndrome, alcoholic polyneuropathy, alcoholic gastritis, alcoholic liver disease, alcoholic myopathy, alcoholic psychosis, alcohol-induced acute pancreatitis, and alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis.
In the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application, deaths included in the cancer category include those from breast cancer (women only), colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer, laryngeal cancer, liver cancer, oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer (men only), and stomach cancer.
In the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application, deaths included in the heart disease and stroke category include those from atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, hypertension, hemorrhagic stroke, and ischemic stroke.
In the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application, deaths included in the conditions of the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas category include those from esophageal varices, gallbladder disease, gastroesophageal hemorrhage, unspecified liver cirrhosis, acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis, and portal hypertension.
In the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application, deaths included in the other chronic conditions category include chronic hepatitis; infant deaths because of low birth weight, pre-term birth, and small for gestational age; pneumonia; and unprovoked seizures, epilepsy, or seizure disorder.
In the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application, deaths included in the alcohol-related poisonings category include those from alcohol poisoning or poisonings that involved another substance in addition to alcohol (e.g., drug overdoses).
In the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application, deaths included in the suicide category include those from suicide or suicide by exposure to alcohol.
In the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application, deaths included in the other acute conditions category include those from air-space transport, aspiration, child maltreatment, drowning, fall injuries, fire injuries, firearm injuries, homicide, hypothermia, motor vehicle nontraffic crashes, occupational and machine injuries, other road vehicle crashes, and water transport.