Alcohol causes 5% of deaths worldwide, according to a new study from the World Health Organization

New data from the World Health Organization (WHO) found that alcohol causes 5% of deaths worldwide,The Guardian reports, and young people are the most affected. WHO releases global status report on alcohol and health every four years, says The Guardian, and the most recent data show that young people have experienced the highest rate of alcohol-related deaths. according to The GuardianAlthough alcohol is responsible for 7.2% of premature deaths overall, 13.5% of deaths among people in their twenties were alcohol related. Of all alcohol-related deaths in 2016, 75% of them affected men, reports CNN.

Most alcohol-related deaths (29%) were caused by injuries such as car accidents or suicides. The Guardian reports. According to Gizmodo, digestive disorders (21%), cardiovascular diseases (19%), infectious diseases, cancers, mental illnesses and other alcohol-related disorders are also responsible for deaths related to alcohol. to alcohol.

Vladimir Poznyak, a WHO expert on the fight against alcoholism, said: The Guardian that the burden of alcohol on health was too great, but that the latter figures probably underestimate what is really happening. "The consumption of alcohol begins in many countries well before [age] 15, said Poznyak The Guardian"That's why we can say that our estimates are quite conservative because we do not take into account the impact of alcohol consumption on children under the age of 15."

The data follows a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that drugs, alcohol and suicide lead to a decline in life expectancy in the United States, reports BuzzFeed. According to the CDC report, says BuzzFeed, more Americans are dying of addiction, chronic liver disease, and suicides than in previous years. The data comes from the CDC's annual report on the state of health of countries, which examines health trends in the United States in terms of illness, death and life expectancy. According to BuzzFeed, between 2006 and 2016, deaths from these causes increased significantly, with drug-related deaths increasing by 72% and suicides by 23%. In 2016, the mortality rate for chronic liver disease increased by 7.9% for men and 11.4% for women, according to the BuzzFeed report.

According to CNN reports, alcohol is consumed around the world by about 2.3 million people, 45% of whom are alcohol, 34% as beer and 12% as wine. The researchers say that these results show the need for greater government intervention to reduce the adverse effects of alcohol consumption on public health.

"Unfortunately, the implementation of the most effective policy options is behind the scale of the problems," Poznyak said. The Guardian. "Governments must do more to achieve global goals and reduce the burden of alcohol on societies. This is clear and this action is absent or insufficient in most countries of the world. "

These statistics are sobering, but they shed light on a problem that many may not have achieved. Although these data do not tell us Why In the United States, young people are turning to substances and suicide at such a high rate, this is an important research on a little understood topic.

If you or someone you know is asking for help with substance use, call the SAMHSA hotline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).