Alcohol-related mortality among adults

Abstract

Risky, abusive and addictive consumption of alcoholic beverages greatly jeopardizes the drinker’s health; it can harm third parties, affects the drinker’s social relations and causes considerable costs to the national economy. National and international campaigns therefore aim to lower alcohol consumption and its consequences. Alcoholrelated mortality is the most serious outcome of excessive alcohol consumption. Official statistics on causes of death include a number of entirely alcohol-related diagnoses. In 2014 an examination of deceased adults in Germany revealed a directly alcohol-related cause of death in 14,095 cases (20.8 for every 100,000 inhabitants). Such diagnoses were considerably more frequent for men than women, reaching a peak in the 55 to 64 age group. Overall, death from alcohol abuse is declining in Germany. Because by international standards there is still a relatively high consumption of alcoholic beverages in Germany, more action needs to be taken.