Number of Alcohol-Related Deaths More Than Doubled From 1999 to 2017

The number of alcohol-related deaths in the United States more than doubled between 1999 and 2017, according to new research from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Researchers found alcohol-related deaths rose from 35,914 in 1999 to 72,558 in 2017. Almost 1 million Americans died from alcohol during that period. In 2017 alone, 2.6% of about 2.8 million deaths were related to alcohol, CNN reports.

The largest annual increase in deaths was among non-Hispanic white women, the study found.

“Women are at greater risk than men at comparable levels of alcohol exposure for alcohol-related cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers, alcohol-related liver disease and acute liver failure due to excessive drinking,” the study authors wrote. “Because women reach higher blood alcohol levels than men of comparable weights after consuming the same amount of alcohol, their body tissues are exposed to more alcohol and acetaldehyde, a toxic metabolite of alcohol, after each drink.”