Deaths from excessive drinking surged during the COVID-19 lockdowns, a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.
Between 2016-2017 and 2020-2021, "excessive alcohol use" rose by around 30%, according to a study in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. According to the study, the annual number of deaths due to "excessive alcohol use" rose by 27% for men and 35% for women.
"During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021," authors of the study wrote, "policies were widely implemented to expand alcohol carryout and delivery to homes, and places that sold alcohol for off-premise consumption (e.g., liquor stores) were deemed as essential businesses in many states (and remained open during lockdowns)."
The authors went on to note that "[g]eneral delays in seeking medical attention, including avoidance of emergency departments for alcohol-related conditions; 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."