Epidemiology

Your Organisational Guidance

ebpracticenet urges you to prioritise the following organisational guidance:

Alcoholmisbruik bij jongerenPublished by: Federaal Wetenschapsbeleid (Belspo)Last published: 2015Alcoholmisbruik bij jongerenPublished by: Federaal Wetenschapsbeleid (Belspo)Last published: 2015

Harmful use of alcohol accounted for 4.7% of global deaths in 2019, with 7% of the world population aged 15 years or older estimated to live with alcohol use disorder.[7] In the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 20.1% of people in the US aged over 11 years reported binge drinking in the past month, while 5.0% reported heavy alcohol use.[8]​ The 2024 NSDUH revealed 27.9 million US people (9.7% of those aged over 11 years) to have alcohol use disorder in the past year, fewer than 1 in 10 of whom had received treatment for the condition.[8]​ A total 178,307 deaths in the US were attributed to excessive alcohol use during 2020-2021, a 29% increase compared with 4 years prior.[9]​

Alcohol-attributable mortality is highest in European and African countries, and among adults aged 20-39 years.[7]​ In 2023, the UK reported 600,000 people to be ‘dependent’ on alcohol, with an 89% rise in alcohol-related mortality over the two decades prior, and particularly since the covid-19 pandemic.[10]​​ This contrasts with a decline in the number accessing alcohol treatment in the UK (only 18% of adults with ‘dependency’), despite treatment having a reported 60% success rate.[10]​ England also reported the highest prevalence of lifetime drinking in 11-year-olds of 44 countries assessed across Europe, Canada, and Central Asia.[11]​

Globally, males have the greatest disease burden (deaths and disability).[7]​ Despite alcohol use being more prevalent in higher-income countries and populations, alcohol-attributable mortality is higher among populations of lower socioeconomic status.[7][10][12]​ People of white ethnicity or with comorbid mental health disorders are also more likely to use alcohol or have alcohol use disorder.[7][13]​​[14]​​[15]

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