Email UpdatesA new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals a significant increase in deaths attributed to unhealthy alcohol use over the past two decades, with a notable spike observed from 2019 to 2020 during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CDC's findings show a 29.3 percent increase in the average annual number of deaths from excessive alcohol use, jumping from 137,927 during 2016-2017 to 178,307 during 2020-2021. The age-standardized alcohol-related death rate, which rose from 38.1 to 47.6 per 100,000 population also reflects this increase.
This upward trend underscores the need for effective strategies to address unhealthy alcohol use and reduce alcohol-related deaths across the country. One initiative making strides in this area is the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) EvidenceNOW: Managing Unhealthy Alcohol Use Initiative.
Launched in October 2019, this initiative helps primary care practices implement and disseminate evidence-based approaches for managing unhealthy alcohol use, including screening and brief interventions for at-risk individuals and medication-assisted therapy for individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD). The initiative has produced several resources for managing unhealthy alcohol use in primary care, including:
- This environmental scan report with practices, strategies, and resources for primary care providers facing issues when implementing evidence-based approaches for managing unhealthy alcohol use.
- This expert-curated, searchable collection of tools and resources for managing unhealthy alcohol use in primary care.
- This frequently asked questions guide with an overview of the medications used to treat alcohol use disorder and answers to commonly asked questions from primary care physicians.
Equipping primary care physicians with the latest evidence-based approaches and resources for managing unhealthy alcohol use is one way to address the increasing deaths associated with excessive alcohol use. CDC’s report also suggests creating policies that reduce the availability and accessibility of alcohol and implementing mass media communications campaigns to support people in consuming less alcohol.
To review additional research and data on unhealthy alcohol use, see: