Rise in Alcohol-Related Female Deaths and High-Risk Drinking

The number of women losing their lives due to alcohol has been found to have increased compared to 10 years ago.

According to the National Data Office on September 26, the alcohol-related female mortality rate (the number of deaths per 100,000 population) last year stood at 3.1, up by about 0.7 from 2.4 in 2015.

The Data Office classifies 14 diseases, disorders, and poisonings—including mental and behavioral disorders due to alcohol use, liver disease, and gastritis—as causes of alcohol-related deaths.

Breaking down female alcohol-related mortality rates by age group, the increase was particularly sharp among those in their 50s.

The mortality rate for this group was 4.3 in 2015, but reached 6.6 last year, rising by about 2.3 over the span of 10 years.

Women in their 40s followed, with their alcohol-related mortality rate rising from 4.6 to 5.7.

The alcohol-related mortality rate for men fell slightly from 16.4 in 2015 to 16.0 in 2025, a decrease of about 0.4.

However, it remained high at 5.2 times the rate for women.

The overall alcohol-related mortality rate last year was 9.4, slightly higher than the 9.5 recorded 10 years ago.

Gender differences are also appearing in changing alcohol consumption patterns.

Analyzing the results of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey through the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS), the high-risk drinking rate among women aged 19 and older (age-standardized using the 2005 estimated population) recorded 8.6% as of 2024, the latest statistics available, which is 2.0 percentage points higher than 6.6% a decade earlier in 2014.

Compared to 3.4% in 2005, high-risk drinking has increased to about 2.5 times the level.

For men, the high-risk drinking rate has shown a downward trend recently.

It stood at 20.7% in 2014, but dropped to 18.6% in 2024.

Nevertheless, the proportion of high-risk drinking remained higher than that of women.

Combining both men and women, the high-risk drinking rate was 13.6% in 2024, up 0.1 percentage points from 13.5% 10 years ago.

The high-risk drinking rate refers to the percentage of individuals who, over the past year, have had an average single drinking occasion of 7 or more drinks for men and 5 or more drinks for women, and who drink twice or more a week.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.