Compared to 2006, 2014 saw 61 percent more alcohol-related emergency department visits even though the same nine-year period saw only a 2 percent increase in per capita alcohol consumption, according to a study published in the journal Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research.
A team of researchers led by Aaron White, PhD, the scientific adviser to the director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a division of the National Institutes of Health, reviewed data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample on ED visits between 2006 and 2014.
Here are four things to know.
1. The rate of ED visits for alcohol-related problems increased 47 percent from 1,223 visits per 100,000 people in 2006 to 1,802 visits per 100,000 people in 2014.
2. The cost of these visits spiked 272 percent to $15.3 billion in 2014, up from $4.1 billion in 2006.
3. Acute alcohol-related ED visits climbed 51.5 percent between 2006 and 2014 at a rate increase of 40 percent per 100,000.
4. Chronic alcohol-related visits increased 75.7 percent between 2006 and 2014 at a rate increase of 57.9 percent per 100,000.
"Alcohol consumption contributed to an increasing number of ED visits in the United States between 2006 and 2014, especially among females. Increased utilization of evidence-based interventions is needed," the study authors conclude.