As a country, simply stated, we are drinking too much.
So says a recent study conducted by the Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, that claims one in 10 deaths among working-age adults can be attributed to excessive drinking.
The study claims that from 2006 to 2010 roughly 88,000 deaths in the United States were due to excessive alcohol use. The report further points out these deaths are shortening the lives of those who die by about 30 years.
"Excessive alcohol use is a leading cause of preventable death that kills many Americans in the prime of their lives," explained Ursula E. Bauer, Ph.D., M.P.H., director of CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. "We need to redouble our efforts to implement scientifically proven public health approaches to reduce this tragic loss of life."
The CDC report breaks down the numbers to reveal that 69 percent of the deaths were among working-age adults (aged 20-64 years), and 71% were among males. The report adds that roughly 5 percent of the deaths involved people under the age of 21.
In the same CDC study (PDF) involving the consumption of alcohol in the U.S., researchers claim the death rate due to alcohol consumption varies from state to state.
New Mexico heads the list with the highest death rate due to excessive drinking with a shocking 51.2 alcohol-related deaths per 100,000 residents. New Jersey was the state with the lowest reading, showing a death rate of approximately 19 per 100,000 residents.
Alaska notched the second-highest reading, with 41.1 alcohol-related deaths per 100,000 residents and Wyoming had the third-highest rate at 37.5 per 100,000 residents. New York registered the second-lowest, with 19.6, and Hawaii had the third-lowest at 20.8.
The report added that drinking-related issues go beyond just posing health risks as researchers claim the problem costs the country more than $220 billion each year. The report also states that alcohol abuse is the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S.
In looking at the U.S. by region, the states with the highest alcohol-related death rates per 100,000 residents are concentrated in the West from Montana (37.7) down to Arizona (37.2) and New Mexico (51.2).
The Northeastern portion of the U.S. had the lowest average death rates per 100,000 residents with most states there below 25.
