In Switzerland in 2017, 1553 deaths were attributed to the consumption of alcohol. Alcohol-attributable deaths are more common among men (1,190) than women (363). The rate of alcohol-attributable deaths among men has fallen since it was first measured in 1997. For women it has remained stable until 2011 and has declined since (standardised rate per 100 000 population). In 2017, 35 men and 11 women per 100,000 inhabitants died of an alcohol-related illness or accidents. The percentage of alcohol-attributable deaths in all deaths across all measurement years has remained stable at around 10% for men and has risen slightly for women between 1997 and 2011 to decrease a little in 2017 (5.2%).
This indicator is part of the Monitoring System Addiction and NCD (MonAM) of the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).
The acute consumption of alcohol is a major cause of accidents. Chronic consumption is responsible for non-communicable diseases and suicide. Common causes of alcohol-attributable death are injuries or accidents, suicide, cancer and liver cirrhosis. The causes of death, however, differ widely between age groups. Deaths of young adults are due mainly to injuries or accidents whereas older people are more likely to die from liver cirrhosis and later in life from cancer.
The indicator for alcohol-attributable mortality shows trends in the effects of alcohol consumption on men and women. This information is used to plan interventions.
This indicator is based on estimates from the Gmel study (2020). Data for the estimates come from the Swiss Health Survey and Cause of Death Statistics as well as from other data sources. Further details on the subject can be found in the original literature.
The indicator shows the number, the standardised rate and the percentage of estimated alcohol-attributable deaths among 15-74 year-old men and women. The percentage of alcohol-attributable deaths is shown in relation to all deaths. The standardised rate shows the mortality rate per 100 000 population. The age structure of Switzerland’s population was taken into account for the standardisation. The estimates shown refer to people aged up 74, as data of a sufficient quality is available up to this age group.
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