Emergency room visits for injuries related to alcohol usage, particularly among women, rose at a faster pace that those for any other injuries from 2006 to 2014, according to a new study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
The reason behind the sharp increase is unclear, as researchers determined that overall alcohol consumption in the U.S. rose by less than 2 percent over the same period.
Emergency room visits for acute or chronic alcohol-related treatment rose by 61 percent — from 3 million in 2006 to almost 5 million in 2014. Visits for any other cause increased by only 8 percent.
“Based on earlier research we suspected that alcohol-related [emergency room] visits were increasing and might be increasing faster for women, but we had no idea the increases were so big,” Dr. Aaron White, a co-author of the study, said in an email to The Washington Times.
More men than women were admitted to the ER for alcohol during the nine-year period, but the gender gap is closing, the researchers wrote. The number of women brought into the ER increased by 5.8 percent, compared to 4 percent for men.
Women between 25 and 34 years old, and 55 to 64 years old, showed the greatest percentage increase in alcohol-related ER admissions — an annual increase of 7.4 percent and 8.9 percent, respectively. Men between 55 and 64 showed a 7.3 percent increase.
“Recent studies suggest that the drinking habits of females and males are becoming more similar in the United States,” Dr. White said in an earlier statement. “This trend is concerning, given that females appear to be more susceptible to some of the detrimental health effects of alcohol.”
The study was conducted by researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). They examined data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, which included 30 million emergency department visits at 945 hospitals in 33 states and the District of Columbia.
In their study, the researchers also highlighted the financial burden caused by the increase in visits, with costs increasing by 272 percent, from $4.1 billion in 2006 to $15.3 billion in 2014.
“These findings are indicative of the detrimental effects that acute and chronic alcohol misuse have on public health, and the significant burden they place on our healthcare system,” NIAAA Director George Koob said in a statement.
The study was published this month in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
More than two-thirds of the U.S. population over the age of 18 drink alcohol, with the majority imbibing responsibly, the researchers wrote. Health officials recommend no more than one alcoholic drink per day for women and no more than two per day for men.
At least 1-in-5 adults binge drink, which is four or more drinks in a single session for women and eight or more for men.
Increased alcohol consumption is linked to at least 200 diseases, the researchers wrote, and more than 88,000 deaths annually are related to alcohol.
The researchers didn’t explore what is causing an increase in alcohol abuse — especially among women — but provided stark statistics of the impact of overconsumption. A 2016 NIAAA study found that, between 2006 and 2013, liver cirrhosis deaths increased by 116 percent for people between 25 and 34 years old.
“In addition, we know that baby boomers, roughly age 50-70, drink more than people older or younger than they are and this age group is growing in size,” Dr. White said in the email. “These changes probably contribute to the increase in alcohol-related [emergency room] visits.”
One bright spot among the data is a nearly 23 percent decrease in alcohol-related ER visits for youngsters between 12 and 17 years old.
Dr. White attributed the decline to cultural shifts among teens, who are spending less time together in person and more time online.
• Laura Kelly can be reached at lkelly@washingtontimes.com.
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