More Men Die of Alcohol Abuse Each Year Compared to Women

More than 3 million people died as a result of the harmful use of alcohol in 2016, according to a report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) which represents 1 in 20 deaths.

According to the report themed ‘Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2018’ More than three-quarters of these deaths were among men. Overall, the harmful use of alcohol causes more than 5 percent of the global disease burden.

Of all deaths attributable to alcohol, 28 percent were due to injuries, such as those from traffic crashes, self-harm and interpersonal violence; 21 percent due to digestive disorders; 19 percent due to cardiovascular diseases, and the remainder due to infectious diseases, cancers, mental disorders, and other health conditions.

Despite some positive global trends in the prevalence of heavy episodic drinking and number of alcohol-related deaths since 2010, the overall burden of disease and injuries caused by the harmful use of alcohol is unacceptably high, particularly in the Europe and America.

Globally an estimated 237 million men and 46 million women suffer from alcohol-use disorders with the highest prevalence among men and women in Europe (14.8 percent and 3.5 percent) and America (11.5 percent and 5.1 percent). Alcohol-use disorders are more common in high-income countries.

An estimated 2.3 billion people are current drinkers. Current trends and projections point to an expected increase in global alcohol per capita consumption in the next 10 years, particularly in South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions and America. 

The average daily consumption of people who drink alcohol is 33 grams of pure alcohol a day, roughly equivalent to 2 glasses (each of 150 ml) of wine, a large (750 ml) bottle of beer or two shots (each of 40 ml) of spirits. 

Worldwide, more than a quarter (27 percent) of all 15–19-year-olds are current drinkers. Rates of current drinking are highest among 15–19-year-olds in Europe (44 percent), followed by the Americas (38 percent) and the Western Pacific (38 percent). School surveys indicate that, in many countries, alcohol use starts before the age of 15 with very small differences between boys and girls.

Worldwide, 45 percent of total recorded alcohol is consumed in the form of spirits. Beer is the second alcoholic beverage in terms of pure alcohol consumed (34 percent) followed by wine (12 percent).

Worldwide there have been only minor changes in preferences of alcoholic beverages since 2010. The largest changes took place in Europe, where consumption of spirits decreased by 3 percent whereas that of wine and beer increased.

Reducing the harmful use of alcohol will help achieve a number of health-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including those for maternal and child health, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and mental health, injuries, and poisonings.