Alcohol-Related ED Visit Volume Nearly Doubled Over 20 Years

Emergency department (ED) visits for alcohol-specific diagnoses nearly doubled between 2003 and 2022, according to new data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The visit rate per 10,000 population increased by more than 70% over the same period.

The data come from the NCHS’s National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, which tracked visits to non-federal, general, and short-stay hospitals from 2003 through 2022. The analysis focused exclusively on conditions caused directly by alcohol use, including alcohol dependence, liver disease, and poisoning. Indirect alcohol-related incidents such as falls or motor vehicle crashes were . . .