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Alcohol-Attributable Deaths Due to Excessive Alcohol Use

Database Paper

Abdulelah A. Albukhari

Health Care Informatics, University of San Diego

HCIN-540-01-FA20 - Introduction Health Care Information Management

Dr. Kathleen Klimpel

December 8, 2020
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Abstract

Alcohol consumption has become a challenge in many countries. California's data show the

negative impact of alcohol consumption from 2011 to 2015. In California, data show alcohol-

attributed deaths due to excessive use has both chronic and acute causes. However, the aim of

this paper is to focus the way the use of alcohol has been changing. The results of California’s

study show more men suffer the impacts of alcohol abuse than women. Women suffer

hypertension more than men. Thus, it is recommended that California implement a campaign that

will sensitize people to the risks of alcohol consumption and increase activities such as sports to

reduce alcohol consumption.

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Alcohol-Attributable Deaths Due to Excessive Alcohol Use

The use of alcohol has become a significant concern among people across many countries

(Esser et al., 2020). The excessive use of alcohol has caused several serious health conditions,

and it is the leading preventable cause of death (San Diego Addiction Treatment Center, 2020).

Alcohol use and misuse account for 3.3 million deaths every year, or 6% of all deaths worldwide

(Sudhinaraset et al., 2016). Excessive alcohol drinking is defined as heavy drinking, binge

drinking, drinking by pregnant women, and any individuals younger than 21 years (Economic

costs of excessive alcohol consumption in the U.S., 2006, 2011). The use of excess alcohol

comes with both the long- and short-term risks that have caused many death (San Diego

Addiction Treatment Center, 2020).

Binge drinking is drinking more than five drinks in 2 hours for a man and four drinks in

the same period for women. It simply means excessive drinking. In most cases, men may drink

as much twice as many drinks in comparison to women. Socially is becoming acceptable for a

woman to drink more across the nation in general and specifically in California (San Diego

Addiction Treatment Center, 2020). Alcohol abuse and dependency can cause more emotional,

legal, social, economic, and social problems (San Diego Addiction Treatment Center, 2020).

Excessive drinking is when one takes eight drinks or more in a week for females and

more than 15 for males (Data on excessive drinking, 2020). Usually, individuals who start

drinking before the age of 15 are more likely to depend on alcohol in comparison to those who

start drinking after the age of 21.

California is among the largest states by area and has the biggest population out of the 50

states in the United States. California also has the highest level of diversity in population, age,

ethnic groups, economic demographic, and social lives; the majority of people living in California
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may suffer from drug abuse, alcoholism, and mental health problems (Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention, 2020). Data indicate that one out of 12 adults are likely to be an alcoholic or have

some drug abuse concerns, as reported by Esser et al. (2020). In addition, more statistics indicate

that between the years 2005 and 2009, greater than half of the Californians ages 12 and above

reported drinking alcohol (San Diego Addiction Treatment Center, 2020). For that reason, it is

clear that many people use alcohol without caring about the outcome or what might happen to their

health.

There are various alcohol-attributed deaths caused by the excessive use of alcohol. There

are both chronic and acute causes (Esser et al., 2020). The chronic causes make up the highest

percentage, followed by acute causes. There are laws designed to control excessive alcohol

consumption. The aspect of gender plays a crucial role in finding the rate of people's alcohol

consumption in a specific demographic. The traditional view is males as that most alcohol users

are male (San Diego Addiction Treatment Center, 2020). While that could be true in most cases,

sometimes women outweigh men. Therefore, it is essential to look at the statistical data of

alcohol-attributed deaths due to the excessive use of alcohol in California to find solutions to

excessive drinking.

Results

Data presented several problems associated with excessive use of alcohol in the state of

California between the years of 2011 and 2015. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the

population of men and women in California is about equal, but the alcohol-related impacts on

men and women are different. Based on the Alcohol-related Disease Impact webpage (Home

page, n.d.), there are both chronic and acute causes.

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Due to excessive use, chronic causes of alcohol-attributed deaths represented 60% of the

total deaths related to alcohol misuse or 6,619 deaths a year. One example of a chronic cause was

alcohol related liver disease, which effected 28% of women and 72% of men per year and caused

3,430 deaths representing 52% of the total deaths from chronic causes and 31% of the overall

alcohol-attributed deaths in California. Men obviously suffered the most from this cause of

death. Upon closer inspection of data, another chronic cause of alcohol-attributed deaths was

hypertension and it effected women more than men. Data showed that 61% of the women who

died suffered from hypertension, but only 39% of men who died had hypertension. Overall 463

deaths occurred from hypertension: 283 were women, while 180 were men. The statistics

indicated that women who drink were more vulnerable to hypertension than men and vulnerable

to alcohol related liver disease men were more. These high numbers of preventable deaths is one

reason it is essential to reduce alcohol consumption rates.

In addition to the 6,619 deaths caused by chronic use, another 4,407 deaths were

attributed to acute causes of death related to alcohol abuse. The acute causes impact men at a

higher rate than women, with 75% of those who died from acute cause being men. One example

of an acute cause of death was alcohol-related poisoning, representing 32% or 1,399 deaths from

acute cause. Data showed that men were suffered more from alcohol-relating poisoning, with

946 deaths, while the female cases caused 453 deaths. Furthermore, data represented that the

second acute cause of excessive alcohol deaths was suicide, totaling 966 deaths and representing

22% of the total acute deaths or 9% of the overall deaths. One other acute cause of death was

motor vehicle crashes due to excessive alcohol use, causing 679 deaths and represent 15% of

total acute cases or 6% of the overall deaths.

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Thinking about how much an individual drink can impact a person, it varies according to

the person’s gender, genetic factors, and body. Chronic heavy drinking can negatively impact an

individual's health over the long term (Hingson et al., 2006). Other than the diseases above, long-

term alcohol abuse and excessive alcoholism left untreated can impact a person's brain and body

and may be a factor in developing disease (San Diego Addiction Treatment Center, 2020). In

fact, a single binge drinking session can have significant impact on our bodies causing damage,

impairment, or even death. We do see instant results with drinking, but excessive drinking leads

to the development of chronic diseases and some other serious health issue.

Discussion and Recommendation

The excessive use of alcohol has a significant impact on people in California and the

entire world. Data presented for California shows both chronic and acute causes of problems

associated with alcohol. Ideally, alcohol use mostly affects youths, especially men because they

indulge in consumption more than women do. For that reason, they suffer the impact greatly

when compared to women.

California's data indicated that alcohol consumption has a high level of liver damage. The

impact affects more men than women. Many alcohol consumers are men. Hypertension also is

major problem facing people who consume alcohol. More women are vulnerable to the problem

than men ("Alcohol-related disease impact - Home page,"). With that, we can say that alcohol

has countless impacts on the health of the consumers. Therefore, it is recommended that

California implement a campaign that will sensitize people to reduce alcohol consumption and

increase activities such as sports to get people involved in activities that will reduce alcohol

consumption.
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With all the health issues that come with the drinking of alcohol, health problems are not

only the challenge that comes with it. Alcohol is just like any other drug and we need financial

resources to acquire alcohol. Excessive use leads to depletion of resources and without money,

theft and crime rise. Alcohol consumption also results in violence and rape cases since one is not

in their right mind. To curb the use of alcohol and other drugs, education must be combined with

other efforts. There has to be the strict imposition of laws, taxes, and tariffs, to control the

importation of alcohol and other drug-related substances.

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References

Census.gov. (2020). QuickFacts California: Population estimates, July 1, 2019.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/CA/PST045219

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, July 30). Alcohol and public health: Alcohol-

related disease impact (ARDI). https://nccd.cdc.gov/DPH_ARDI/default/Default.aspx

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, September 3). Data on excessive drinking.

https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/data-

stats.htm?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Falcohol%2Fdata-table-

text.htm

Esser, M., Sherk, A., Liu, Y., Naimi, T., Stockwell, T., Stahre, M., & Brewer, R. (2020). Deaths

and years of potential life lost from excessive alcohol use-United States, 2011–2015.

Journal of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69(30), 981–987.

https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6930a1

Hingson, R. W., Heeren, T., Winter, M. R. (2006) Age at drinking onset and alcohol

dependence: Age at onset, duration, and severity. Arch Pediatric Adolescent Medical.

2006. 160(7):739–746. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.160.7.739

San Diego Addiction Treatment Center. (2020). California alcoholism rates, treatment, and

statistics. https://sdtreatmentcenter.com/california-treatment/alcoholism/

Sudhinaraset, M., Wigglesworth, C., & Takeuchi, D. T. (2016). Social and cultural contexts of

alcohol use: Influences in a social-ecological framework. Alcohol Research: Current

Reviews, 38(1), 35–45. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27159810/

Economic costs of excessive alcohol consumption in the U.S., 2006. (2011). American Journal of

Preventive Medicine, 41(5), 516-524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2011.06.045

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Appendix

Appendix A: Harmful Effects Summary

Figure 1:

Harmful Effects Summary

Summary of Harmful Effects (chronic and acute

causes) of excessive alcohol use

males
excessive
29% alcohol use

females
excessive
71% alcohol use

Note. Percentages of harmful effects in both genders of excessive alcohol use

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Appendix B: Alcohol related Diseases

Figure 2:

Alcohol Related Diseases

80%

70%
Alcohol Related Diseases
60%

50%

40%
72%
30% 61%

20% 39%
28%
10%

0%
ALCOHOLIC LIVER DISEASE HYPERTENSION
Males Females
Note. Percentage of alcoholic liver disease and hypertension among men and women due to
excessive alcohol use