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Alcohol-Related Deaths Among U.S. College Students

Researchers led by Ralph W. Hingson, Sc.D., M.P.H., director of NIAAA’s Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research, found that the number of alcohol-related unintentional injury deaths* among U.S. college students rose from 1,440 deaths in 1998 to 1,825 in 2005.   

But during that interval, the number of college students in the country also rose. Was the increase in drinking-related unintentional deaths simply a result of a greater number of students? The question calls for a closer look.

It is important to note that no one institution collects all the relevant information. For example, data on traffic incidents—the nation’s leading cause of alcohol-related death and injury—do not indicate whether victims are in college.   

Consequently, Dr. Hingson and colleagues turned to a number of sources and extracted information from multiple datasets. Their comprehensive overview combined statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the U.S. Department of Education, to name just a few sources.  

The numbers speak to the continued seriousness of college alcohol problems. The population of college students climbed from almost 8 million in 1998 to more than 9 million in 2005. Paralleling this rise, both the number and the percentage of alcohol-related deaths increased (see graph). 

Dr. Hingson cautions, “We can’t forget that each of these deaths represents a tragic outcome connected with drinking.” He adds, “Through evidence-based prevention and counseling programs at colleges and surrounding communities, we can do more to address this stubborn problem and reduce these unacceptably high figures."

*The researchers did not include alcohol-related homicides or suicides in their calculations.

Sources:

Hingson RW, Zha W, Weitzman ER. Magnitude of alcohol-related mortality and morbidity among U.S. college students ages 18-24: Changes from 1998 to 2005. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs Supplement. 2009 Jul;(16):12-20.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism National Advisory Council.A call to action: Changing the culture of drinking at U.S. colleges, NIH Publ. No. 02–5010. 2002.