"Thirteen Die Every Day"... Sharp Rise in Alcohol-Related Deaths, Most Common Among Men in Their 50s

Alcohol-Related Mortality Rate Rises Most Sharply Among People in Their 40s

The number of deaths caused by alcohol-related factors has increased significantly this year compared to last year. This includes conditions such as alcoholic liver disease and alcoholic gastritis.

On October 4, Yonhap News cited the "2024 Cause of Death Statistics" from the National Data Office, reporting that the number of alcohol-related deaths last year was 4,823. This represents an increase of 361 people (8.1%) from the previous year. On average, 13.2 people lost their lives each day due to alcohol.

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In addition, the alcohol-related mortality rate per 100,000 people was 9.4, which is an 8.3% increase from the previous year's 8.7. The age group with the highest mortality rate was those in their 50s (19.6), followed by those in their 60s (18.3), 70s (12.4), 40s (10.6), 80 and older (7.8), 30s (3.0), and 20s (0.3).

Compared to the previous year, the age group that saw the largest increase in mortality rate was those in their 40s (12.2%), followed by those in their 30s (11.2%), 50s (7.7%), 60s (5.2%), and 70s (4.5%). The mortality rate decreased for those in their 20s (-37.7%) and those aged 80 and older (-2.9%) compared to the previous year.

By gender, the alcohol-related mortality rate among men (15.9) was about five times higher than that of women (3.1). However, the rate for women rose significantly by 22.7% compared to the previous year, which was much higher than the 5.9% increase for men.

According to the "2024 National Health and Nutrition Survey" by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the high-risk drinking rate among women in their 30s last year was 12.6%, up 3.1 percentage points from the previous year and 6.4 percentage points from nine years ago. Among all women, those in their 30s had the highest rate of high-risk drinking. The agency defines high-risk drinking as consuming five or more drinks per occasion (for women) at least twice a week, and monthly binge drinking as consuming five or more drinks in a single sitting at least once a month.

Meanwhile, a recent study found that women who drink heavily are more likely to develop "soft tissue sarcoma," a malignant tumor originating from soft tissues such as muscles and blood vessels. Soft tissue sarcoma is known to be a rare tumor, accounting for about 1% of adult malignant tumors.