Deaths caused by alcohol-related liver disease are rising sharply among women and young adults, according to new research conducted by scientists from Harvard, Stanford, and the University of Southern California.
The study attributes the increase to higher alcohol consumption during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as a rise in health conditions such as obesity and high blood pressure.
The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, are based on death certificate data from across the United States. The analysis showed that between 2018 and 2022, deaths from alcohol-associated liver disease increased by nearly 9 percent annually. This marks a significant rise compared to the period from 2006 to 2018, during which the annual increase stood at 3.5 percent.
Although men continue to account for the highest number of deaths — 17 per 100,000 people — the rate of increase in deaths among women is notably faster. In 2022, eight out of every 100,000 women died from alcohol-associated liver disease, compared to three per 100,000 at the beginning of the study period. The annual rise in women’s death rates was about 4.3 percent, nearly double the rate observed in men.
The researchers noted that biological differences in how the body processes alcohol may be contributing to this trend. Women are generally less efficient at metabolising alcohol, which can lead to more severe long-term effects on organs, even with lower levels of consumption.
In addition to the impact on women, the study found that young adults between the ages of 25 and 44 experienced the highest yearly increase in deaths from alcohol-associated hepatitis between 1999 and 2022.
Experts cautioned that since alcohol-related cirrhosis takes years to develop, the full impact of increased alcohol use during the pandemic may not become fully evident for another five to ten years.
Separate research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2025 conference also revealed a significant rise in alcohol-related cancer deaths. The number of annual deaths from alcohol-associated cancers nearly doubled, from 11,896 in 1990 to 23,207 in 2021.
