April is Alcohol Awareness Month

Abuse of alcohol can lead to a variety of health problems, including chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, which is the 11^th leading cause of death in the United States. In 2017, 41,743 Americans died of chronic liver disease and cirrhosis¹. Nearly two-thirds of those deaths were to men. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis is the 10^th leading killer among American men.

According to National Health Interview Survey data collected from January to September 2018, nearly one in three men in the U.S. had at least one “heavy drinking day” in the past year, compared with one in five women. While this heavy drinking trend has remained stable among men since 2006, it has increased among women over the same period.

Regionally, the highest death rates from chronic liver disease and cirrhosis are among states located west of the Mississippi River, with New Mexico’s rate the highest of any state. New Mexico’s death rate from chronic liver disease and cirrhosis is more than twice as high as the rate for Nevada, which has the 11^th highest death rate in the country, and three times as high as the rate for Delaware.

Nationally, the death rate from chronic liver disease and cirrhosis reached the highest level in several decades in 2017, at 10.9 deaths per 100,000 population – nearly 24% higher than it was in 2006.

¹CDC WONDER Detailed Mortality File, 2017