It was nearly four years ago that many parts of the country were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Loneliness, depression, and mental health issues also spiked during a time when most people were asked to self-isolate.
Alcohol consumption and deaths also went up during that time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A new report by the CDC found that there were roughly 488 deaths per day during the pandemic due to excessive alcohol drinking in 2020-2021.
“Stress, loneliness, and social isolation; and mental health conditions might also have contributed to the increase in deaths from excessive alcohol use during the Covid-19 pandemic,” the report said.
Excessive alcohol consumption-related deaths have been trending upward for quite some time. During 2016 and 2017, there were 137,927 alcohol-related deaths nationally. For 2020 and 2021, that number climbed to 178,307, according to the report.
Excessive alcohol consumption-related deaths went up by 35% amongst women during those two time periods. In comparison, for men, there was an increase of 27% in deaths over the same time period.
According to the CDC, excessive drinking can lead to alcohol-related deaths. Some of the alcohol-related deaths are linked to cancer, falls, liver disease, alcohol poisoning, and car crashes among other things.
Another study found that people across the country bought more hard alcohol and wine during the early part of the pandemic.
California had some of the strictest rules during the beginning of the pandemic, with many businesses, schools, and services either being closed or going fully remote.
In Los Angeles County, excessive alcohol consumption leads to roughly 2,500 deaths per year, according to the Department of Public Health. The CDC says there were 3,746 alcohol-related deaths in the county between 2020 and 2022.
