Takeaway
Clinicians need to be vigilant to discuss alcohol use with patients and remember that the legal drug, alcohol, causes more morbidity and mortality than opioids.
Lifelong Learning in Clinical Excellence | August 21, 2018 | 1 min read
By Mike Fingerhood, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine
Although deaths from opioids has gripped local and national headlines, more Americans die each year from complications of alcohol use than opioids.
In younger individuals with unhealthy alcohol intake, most deaths are related to trauma. However, this recent piece from NPR looks at the increased risk of liver toxicity from alcohol contributing to advanced liver disease/cirrhosis for individuals in only their 30s, while historically the dictum had been that it takes 30 or more years of drinking to cause cirrhosis.
The cause seems unclear as pure binge drinking seemingly should not cause cirrhosis and a “global financial crisis” is an unclear contributor as there is not clear data to show that the state of the economy impacts per capita alcohol consumption.
Nevertheless, the study should raise alarm and awareness. I frequently discuss alcohol intake with my younger adult patients, many of whom are not aware that popular mixed drinks, such as a Kamikaze or a Long Island Iced Tea, contain 4 shots of distilled alcohol. Just one mixed drink can raise their blood alcohol level to the legal limit for driving, and if imbibed on a regular basis can put them at risk for liver toxicity.
Clinicians need to be vigilant to discuss alcohol use with patients and remember that the legal drug, alcohol, causes more morbidity and mortality than opioids.