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Alcohol's Effects on Health

Research-based information on drinking and its impact.

Global Burden

Updated: May 2023

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Image of a globe. Global health burden of alcohol. Globally, alcohol misuse was the seventh-leading risk factor for premature death and disability in 2016. Source: GBD 2016 Alcohol Collaborators
  • Globally, alcohol misuse was the seventh-leading risk factor for premature death and disability in 2016.1
  • In 2016, alcohol misuse was the leading risk factor for death and disability among people ages 15 to 49.1
  • In 2016, approximately 14.0% of total deaths among people ages 20 to 39 were alcohol attributable.2
  • In 2016, of all deaths attributable to alcohol consumption worldwide, 28.7% were due to injuries, 21.3% were due to digestive diseases (primarily cirrhosis of the liver and pancreatitis), 19.0% were due to cardiovascular diseases, 12.9% were due to infectious diseases (including tuberculosis, pneumonia, and HIV/AIDS), and 12.6% were due to cancers (most prominently those of the upper aerodigestive tract).2
  • In 2016, 5.1% of the burden of disease and injury worldwide (132.6 million disability-adjusted life years) was attributable to alcohol consumption.3
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    Alcohol contributes to more than 200 diseases and injury-related health conditions. Source: WHO, 2018
  • In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that alcohol contributed to more than 200 diseases and injury-related health conditions, including liver diseases, road injuries, violence, cancers, cardiovascular diseases, suicides, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS.3
  • In 2019, alcohol use was the leading risk factor for attributable burden of disease among people ages 25 to 49, the second-leading risk factor among ages 10 to 24, and the ninth-leading risk factor among all ages.4
  • In 2019, alcohol use accounted for 2.07 million deaths of males and 374,000 deaths of females, globally.4

References

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