Alcohol-Related Deaths and Working-Age Adults Excessive alcohol use is one of the leading causes of preventable death, according to an epidemiologist with the Michigan Department of Community Health. Working-age adults (20-64) have the highest incidence of alcohol-related deaths. Teens generate a large amount of traffic and other accidental deaths, but haven’t had long enough exposure to experience health problems associated with problemdrinking. The elderly, though at risk for alcohol abuse and associated problems, are generally less likely to engage in risky behavior, and, if they’ve made it to 70 without alcohol-related heart, liver, or other health disease, are less likely to develop them.
Studies indicated that, demographically speaking, whites make up the largest number of alcohol-related deaths, with men outnumbering women, but that Blacks, American Indians, and Alaska natives have a higher rate within their respective populations (attributable to economic).
Deaths attributable to alcohol abuse are in many cases difficult to identify with certainty. A woman in Los Angeles fell on a sharp kitchen implement while cooking under the influence of alcohol. She bled to death and the cause of death was listed as “Accidental.” A true listing of alcohol-related deaths would include • Automobile accidents • Alcohol related (non-driving) accidents • Drowning
• Domestic and other violence • Risk-related deaths • Liver disease • Cardiovascular disease • Fetal alcohol syndrome • Certain cancers • Pancreatitis • Alcohol poisoning • Drug overdose where alcohol is a contributing factor • Suicide where alcohol is a contributing factor
Approximately ten percent of people with addiction problemsseek medical help, as opposed to over seventy percent who seek help for conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. This can be traced to two overlapping causes: • Alcoholism/drug addiction is a disease of denial. It seems to be a built-in part of the problem that the sufferer minimizes or ignores the symptoms and insists on attempting to manage his or her condition. • The culture at large has not been fully educated about (or has failed to accept) the concept of alcoholism/addiction as a disease—that it is a medical problem and that effective treatment is available.