Educational disparities in alcohol-related liver disease mortality in the 21st century: Beyond deaths of despair?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Deaths from alcohol-related liver disease and associated conditions (ALD+), a major driver of alcohol-attributable mortality in the United States, are rising more rapidly than per capita alcohol consumption. These trends may stem from a broader "deaths of despair" epidemic disproportionately affecting those without a college degree. However, how ALD+ mortality trends vary by educational attainment remains underexplored. To address this, we analyzed ALD+ mortality from 2001 to 2020, focusing on disparities across educational and demographic subgroups.

Methods

We analyzed US mortality trends for adults 25 and older using a repeated cross-sectional dataset combining death records for ALD+ with population data from the American Community Survey. We examined difference

SUBMITTER: Grucza RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12743324 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature