More Americans are visiting emergency departments for alcohol-related reasons, suggests a study published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
For the study, researchers used Nationwide Emergency Department Sample data to assess alcohol-related ED visits by age and sex between 2006 and 2014. The data involved 945 hospitals in 33 states and Washington, D.C.
Here are seven study findings.
1. The number of alcohol-related ED visits climbed from 3.1 million to 5 million during the studied time period.
2, The rate of these visits rose from 1,223 per 100,000 people in 2006 to 1,802 per 100,000 people in 2014.
3. The total cost of these visits also increased during the studied time period, from $4.1 billion to $15.3 billion.
4. Acute-alcohol related ED visits increased from 1.8 million to 2.7 million between 2006 and 2014.
5. The rate of such visits increased 40 percent during the studied time period, from 720.9 per 100,000 people to 1,009.6 per 100,000 people.
6. Chronic alcohol-related ED visits increased from 1.3 million to 2.2 million between 2006 and 2014.
7. The rate of such visits rose from 502.2 per 100,000 people to 792.9 per 100,000 people.
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