8 Questions on Alcohol-related Mortality in the US

Question 1. Approximately how many alcohol-related deaths were recorded between 1999-2017 among people aged ≥16 years?

Answer: D. >940 000. Between 1999 and 2017, 944 880 alcohol-related deaths were recorded in the US among people aged ≥16 years. 

Question 2. Between 1999-2017, the number of alcohol-related deaths among people aged ≥16 years increased by approximately how much?

Answer: D. >75%. The number of alcohol-related deaths among US persons aged ≥16 years nearly doubled, going from 35 914 in 1999 to 72 558 in 2017. Similarly, the overall age-adjusted death rate increased 50.9% from 16.9 per 100 000 deaths in 1999 to 25.5 per 100 000 deaths in 2017.

Question 3. True or false? Alcohol-related deaths accounted for approximately 3% of 2.4 million deaths among persons aged ≥16 years in 1999 and 4% of 2.8 million deaths in 2017.

Answer: B. False. Alcohol-related deaths accounted for approximately 1.5% of 2.4 million deaths among persons aged ≥16 years in 1999 and 2.6% of 2.8 million deaths in 2017.

Question 4. True or false? Between 1999 and 2017, the largest annual increase in alcohol-related deaths occurred among women.

Answer: A. True. Despite men accounting for the majority (76.4%) of alcohol-related deaths between 1999-2017, a greater increase in the number and age-adjusted rate of alcohol-related deaths was seen in women (135.8% in numbers, 85.3% in age-adjusted rates) vs men (92.9% in numbers, 38.7% in age-adjusted rates).

Question 5. In which age group of adults was the average annual percent change in alcohol-related deaths highest?

Answer: C. 25-34 years. The average annual percent change in alcohol-related deaths between 1999 and 2017 was highest among men (4.1%) and women (5.9%) aged 25-34 years. Researchers also noted that despite the higher increase in alcohol-related deaths in this age group, the overall rates of alcohol-related deaths were >4 times higher among middle-aged and older adults aged 45-74 years vs among those aged 25-34 years.

Question 6. Adults aged ≥16 years in which of the above racial/ethnic groups had the highest alcohol-related death rate in 2017?

Answer: A. NH AIAN. NH AIAN aged ≥16 years had the highest alcohol-related death rate in 2017 (women: 63.4, men: 141.2 per 100 000 deaths). NH API had the lowest alcohol-related death rate (women: 1.7, men: 9.7 per 100 000 deaths) in 2017.

Question 7. True or false? The majority of alcohol-related deaths in 1999 AND 2017 were due to acute causes.

Answer: B. False. Chronic causes (eg, alcoholic liver disease, alcoholic gastritis) were reported for the majority of alcohol-related deaths in 1999 (86.5%) and in 2017 (86.3%) vs acute causes (toxic effects of alcohol, poisoning by and exposure to alcohol) that accounted for 14.6% of alcohol-related deaths in 1999 and 21.5% in 2017. The largest increase in alcohol-related death due to chronic causes was observed in adults aged 25-34 years.

Question 8. In 2017, the largest percentage of alcohol-related deaths among people aged ≥16 years resulted from which of the above underlying causes?