Surge in alcohol-related deaths raged in US during onset of COVID pandemic, study says.
Alcohol-related deaths in the U.S. jumped by nearly 26% at the onset of the pandemic in the highest year-over-year increase recorded by researchers over the past two decades, according to a new study. Researchers say these deaths reflect the hidden tolls of the pandemic as more and more Americans turned to alcohol to cope with the stress, isolation and economic hardship brought on by COVID-19.
In the past 20 years, the second highest year-over-year increase was just 5%, White told McClatchy News. The massive spike in alcohol-related deaths in 2020 happened over a 9-month period from the start of the pandemic in March through the end of the year, he said.
“Overall in the country there was a 2.9% increase in total alcohol sales, and that doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s huge, and it’s the biggest increase in sales we’ve seen since 1968,” White said. “And so, Americans were drinking a lot more alcohol.”
Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article259684565.html#storylink=cpy
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