Excessive Alcohol Deaths Surged In VA During Pandemic, CDC Says

VIRGINIA — Excessive and risky drinking to cope with the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to an increase in alcohol-related deaths in Virginia, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC data published last month shows that in Virginia, 3,902 people died of causes that were 100 percent alcohol-attributable in 2021-22. Of those, 2,619 were male and 1,283 were female.

People under the age of 21 died more frequently, too, according to the CDC report. Virginia reported 95 excessive alcohol deaths among underage drinkers during the same period. Of those, 72 were male and 22 were female.

Of the overall 100 percent alcohol-attributable deaths (numbers may not add up due to rounding):

• Alcohol abuse, 113
• Alcohol cardiomyopathy, 10
• Alcohol dependence syndrome, 202
• Alcoholic liver disease, 559
• Alcoholic psychosis, 50
• Alcohol-induced acute pancreatitis, 16

Nationwide, about 488 people a day died due to excessive alcohol consumption during 2020-21, the CDC said. That represented a more than 29 percent increase in excessive alcohol use since 2016-17.

In 2016-17, there were 137,927 alcohol-related deaths. In 2021-22, that number was 178,307.

Both men and women started drinking more excessively during the pandemic, but women more so than men, according to the report. Excessive alcohol consumption deaths among women shot up 35 percent from 2016-17 to 2020-21, compared to 27 percent among men.

Excessive alcohol deaths occurred across all age groups as well. The report also noted increases in both per capita alcohol sales and emergency room visits for acute alcohol use also increased during the period.

Multiple studies have suggested that, especially from 2020 to 2021, about a quarter of Americans said they drank more to cope with the stress of the pandemic, according to a National Institutes of Health report last summer.

In most cases, they turned to hard liquor, that report said.

The CDC said the true number of people who died from excessive alcohol consumption during the pandemic may be even higher than the recent report indicates.

Data from Monitoring the Future, the agency’s ongoing study of U.S. residents' behaviors, attitudes, and values from adolescence through adulthood, showed binge drinking among adults aged 35–50 years was higher in 2022 than in any other year during the past decades.

“This increase could contribute to future increases in alcohol-attributable deaths,” the agency said. “In this study, fewer than one-third of deaths from excessive alcohol use were from fully alcohol-attributable causes, highlighting the importance of also assessing partially alcohol-attributable causes to better understand the harms from excessive drinking, including binge drinking.”

Excessive drinking, the No. 1 preventable cause of death among adults, can lead to chronic health issues such as heart and liver disease, some types of cancer, and alcohol use disorder, the CDC said. Also, the agency said, excessive or binge drinking can lead to alcohol poisoning, car accidents and suicides.

Among other recommendations, the CDC said Virginia and others should consider policies limiting when and where people can buy alcohol, and also raising taxes to make alcohol more expensive.

The CDC study includes resources for people who want to curb their alcohol use, including electronic screening, assistance in creating a plan to reduce alcohol intake, and interventions that can be used in primary and acute care.