Alcohol-related deaths spiked in 2020 pandemic lockdown, study shows

Alcohol-related deaths jumped by more than 20,000 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent study.

The analysis of mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics, published March 18 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that the number and rate of alcohol-related deaths increased by more than 25% between 2019 and 2020.

There were 99,017 death certificates showing alcohol as the underlying or contributing cause of death in the U.S. in 2020, up from 78,927 in 2019.

That’s comparable to 100,000 drug-related deaths in 2020.

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the study found that alcohol-related deaths began climbing during the first lockdown in March, peaked in July, then dipped and peaked again in December.

“Studies reported increases in drinking to cope with stress, transplants for alcohol-associated liver disease, and emergency department visits for alcohol withdrawal,” according to the report.

Alcohol-related deaths increased among all Americans starting at age 16, it added.

The study cited joblessness, social isolation and disruptions in alcoholism treatment programs — such as Alcoholics Anonymous — as possible reasons for the jump.

It noted that only 2,042 cases listed both alcohol and COVID-19 as causes of death.

Before the pandemic, the study said the alcohol-related death rate showed only a 2.2% average annual change between 1999 and 2017.

In 2020, the 25% rate increase for alcohol-related deaths outpaced a 16.6% increase in deaths from all causes.

Three researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a part of the Maryland-based National Institutes of Health, conducted the study.

The lead researcher was Aaron White, a senior scientific adviser at the institute.

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.