Alcohol Related Deaths
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Drinking alcoholic beverages in an abusive, chronic, and irresponsible way can lead to more than a few
different alcohol related deaths. What are some of the main reasons for alcohol related
fatalities?
Wouldn't it seem to make sense that with our medical advancements and increased educational efforts that the
number of alcohol related deaths would be significantly reduced on an annual basis? Please continue reading
for more relevant information about this important topic.
Familiar Alcohol Related Deaths
For sure, there is not an insignificant number of fairly common alcohol related deaths and many less routine
alcohol related deaths.
Plausibly, the most widespread alcohol related deaths concern the following: loss of life from excessive alcohol
withdrawal symptoms, unforeseen deaths from chronic alcoholism, deadly alcohol overdoses, the lost of life of
children due to fetal alcohol syndrome and other serious birth defects, and alcohol related fatalities from vehicle
accidents.
These are the unfortunate alcohol related deaths that we usually read about in our newspapers and invariably
seem to make the nightly news.
Less Familiar Alcohol Related Deaths
Some less obvious alcohol related deaths take place within society in general from suicide and homicide; in the
workplace via alcohol-related injuries, homicides, and accidents; and in the home from wife battering, homicide,
and child abuse.
Excessive Drinking and Alcohol Related Deaths From Cancer
Alcohol related deaths also happen from certain types of cancer that are directly or indirectly caused by
excessive and abusive alcohol consumption.
Some of the more typical types of cancer that are alcohol-related and that in many instances lead to death
consist of the following:
- Throat cancer
- Cancer of the stomach
- Esophagus cancer
- Colon cancer
- Cancer of the larynx
- Cancer of the rectum
- Liver cancer
- Kidney cancer
Non-Cancerous Alcohol Related Fatalities
In addition to the link between cancer and chronic, abusive drinking, there are many alcohol related deaths from
disorders and illnesses that are not related to cancer.
The following is a list of non-cancerous diseases, physical conditions, and medical problems that are
alcohol-related and that frequently lead to the loss of life:
- Pneumonia
- Diabetes
- Cirrhosis of the liver
- Organ and system malfunction
- Kidney and urinary tract infections
- Ulcers from the perforation of the stomach and the intestines
- Brain damage
- Malnutrition
- Kidney failure
- Cardiovascular difficulties such as strokes and heart failure
- Pancreatitis
- Alcohol-induced coma
- Infections
| It is not clear whether starting to drink at an early age actually causes alcoholism
or whether it simply indicates an existing vulnerability to alcohol use disorders. For example,
both early drinking and alcoholism have been linked to personality characteristics such as strong
tendencies to act impulsively and to seek out new experiences and sensations. |
Alcohol Related Deaths: Conclusion
A
review of different scientific research studies presents a substantial number of alcohol related deaths from
quite a few obvious and some not so obvious sources.
Some of the more unambiguous ways in which people lose their lives from chronic and abusive drinking involve
traffic fatalities, homicides, alcohol poisoning, chronic alcoholism, diverse alcohol-related birth defects such as
fetal alcohol syndrome, suicides, and critical alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Other comparatively less common alcohol related fatalities occur from a number of different forms of
cancer. In addition, a relatively large number of alcohol related deaths arise from non-cancerous,
alcohol-related mental and physical health difficulties, medical conditions, and diseases like heart failure,
alcohol-induced coma, pancreatitis, organ failure, strokes, and brain damage.
| Limited work supervision, often a problem on evening shifts, has been associated
with employee alcohol problems. In one study of 832 workers at a large manufacturing plant, workers
on evening shifts, during which supervision was reduced, were more likely than those on other
shifts to report drinking at work. |
It almost seems as if every year medical scientific discoveries are uncovering another affliction or physical
and psychological wellness problem that is caused either directly or indirectly from chronic alcohol abuse and
alcohol dependency. Alas, scores of these alcohol-related medical problems and issues have resulted in the untimely
deaths of countless numbers of individuals.
One would think that access to this data would substantially diminish the relatively great number of individuals
who are addicted to alcohol or who are chronic alcohol abusers. Remorsefully, the medical and alcohol
dependency death statistics do not corroborate this contention.
The bottom line is this. We now have valid scientific evidence that long-term excessive and abusive
drinking can and does lead to alcohol related deaths.
It is time for us to stop making excuses for our irresponsible behavior and either learn how to drink in a way
that does not harm us or refrain from drinking altogether.
| Many people who have alcohol problems are successful in other areas of their lives,
and they might even be able to hide their problem for years. These people often deny that they have
a problem. |
| Heavy alcohol consumption can raise blood pressure even in people with no history of
heart disease. The more alcohol someone drinks, the greater the increase in blood pressure, with
binge drinkers (people who have nine or more drinks once or twice a week) being at greatest risk.
One study found that binge drinkers had a risk for a cardiac emergency that was two and a half
times that of non drinkers. |
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