One in 25 worldwide deaths due to alcohol

TORONTO, June 26 (UPI) -- One in 25 deaths worldwide are directly attributable to alcohol consumption -- an increase mainly due to more women drinking, Canadian researchers said.

Dr. Jurgen Rehm of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto and colleagues found that alcohol-attributable disorders are among the most disabling disease categories within the global burden of disease, especially for men.

However, in contrast to other traditional risk factors for disease, the burden attributable to alcohol lies more with younger people than with the older population.

"Globally, the effect of alcohol on burden of disease is about the same size as that of smoking in 2000, but it is relatively greatest in emerging economies. Global consumption is increasing, especially in the most populous countries of India and China," Rehm said in a statement.

The study, published in The Lancet, showed Europe had a high proportion of deaths related to alcohol, with 10 percent of deaths directly attributable to alcohol compared to North America's 10 to 11 standard drinks.

Average alcohol consumption in Europe in the adult population is somewhat higher than in North America: 13 standard drinks per person per week.

Most of the deaths caused by alcohol were through injuries, cancer, cardiovascular disease and liver cirrhosis, the study said.