Image to help understand the article
Alcohol-related deaths among Korean women increase over 10 years
South Korea’s National Data Office reported that the alcohol-related death rate among women reached 3.1 deaths per 100,000 people last year, up from 2.4 in 2015.
The figures include deaths linked to 14 categories of alcohol-related conditions, including liver disease, gastritis, and mental and behavioral disorders. The increase was especially noticeable among women in their 50s, whose alcohol-related death rate rose from 4.3 per 100,000 people in 2015 to 6.6 last year.
Among women in their 40s, the rate increased from 4.6 to 5.7 over the same period. By comparison, the alcohol-related death rate among men fell slightly, from 16.4 in 2015 to 16.0 in 2025, remaining about 5.2 times higher than the rate among women.
Overall, South Korea’s alcohol-related death rate was 9.4 per 100,000 people last year, slightly above the 9.5 recorded a decade earlier.
High-risk drinking rate among women also rises
The National Data Office also analyzed data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey through the country’s official statistics portal, KOSIS.
South Korea defines high-risk drinking as consuming an average of at least seven drinks per occasion for men or five drinks for women, while drinking at least twice a week.
The high-risk drinking rate among Korean women stood at 8.6% in 2024, up from 6.6% in 2014. Compared with 2005, when the rate was 3.4%, the figure has increased to about 2.5 times that level.
Meanwhile, the high-risk drinking rate among men declined from 20.7% in 2014 to 18.6% in 2024. Although the gap has narrowed, men’s rate remains higher than women’s. The combined rate for men and women changed little, rising from 13.5% in 2014 to 13.6% in 2024.
Comments
Post a Comment