US Government Alcohol Poisoning - According to a new Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 2,200 people die from alcohol poisoning each year in the United States, meaning there it can kill an average of six people daily.
While this new data on US Government alcohol poisoning is shocking, the most unexpected finding is the fact that highest among these deaths are among middle-age men.
Three in four alcohol poisoning deaths are reportedly of adults within the age range of 35-64 years. The study also found that most deaths occur among men and non-Hispanic whites. Meanwhile, American Indians/Alaska Natives have also been found to have the most alcohol poisoning deaths per million people, the CDC report says.
"The majority of these deaths are not among college students, whom we typically associate with binge drinking," Ileana Arias, principal deputy director for the CDC, said during a teleconference Tuesday. "We were surprised."
The US Government alcohol poisoning deaths study found that the deaths are mainly due to drinking large amounts of alcohol during a short period of time. Doing such can cause the body to shut down areas of the brain that control breathing, heart rate and body temperature, thus resulting in a coma or even death, according to US News.
The new US Government alcohol poisoning deaths report have analyzed deaths from alcohol poisoning among people aged 15 and older. Researchers used death certificates from the National Vital Statistics System from 2010 to 2012. They found that alcohol dependence, or alcoholism, was identified as a contributing factor in 30 percent of deaths from alcohol poisoning. Other drugs only account for about 3 percent of deaths, while hypothermia was listed as a contributing cause of death in 6 percent of cases.
"Obviously we still have serious alcohol addictions around people in middle age that are unaddressed or untreated," says Dr. Antoine Douaihy, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh.
Since the procedure in determining these deaths have evolved over the years, according to government health officials, the findings on the US Government alcohol poisoning deaths study may be low.
"When people think about alcohol, they tend to think about two problems: addiction and drinking and driving," David Jernigan, director of the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said. "This [report] shows there is another big problem - you can die from alcohol itself."
The US Government alcohol poisoning deaths study surprisingly reveals that even those not dependent on alcohol can die from it. Similar to tobacco use, the earlier people start drinking, the more likely it is for them to have problems with alcohol later in life as well.
"A lot of people drink heavily in college then leave it behind, but some don't," said Mayer. "If people have continued to drink then their ability to stop the behavior diminishes because of the changes in the brain ... The whole point is if you're young and binge drinking you better stop now or you'll progress to this point."
Over a long period, heavy alcohol intake can reportedly lead to cirrhosis or breast cancer. It has been linked to increased violence, homicides and suicides as well.
Authors of the US Government alcohol poisoning deaths study have briefly referred to expanded coverage through the Affordable Care Act for alcohol screening and counseling. However, CDC officials are putting more emphasis on effective state policies that could be used to help prevent excessive intake of alcohol.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
