For those above the drinking age,
who doesn’t want to enjoy a glass of wine or a bottle of beer from time to time?

However, over-drinking and AUD (Alcohol Use Disorder)
have become a global epidemic.

2million people are estimated to have AUD globally

To understand the issue better, we will start by exploring
global alcohol consumption.

Global Alcohol Consumption

What is the alcohol consumption for each country
and what are the percentage of people drinking?

Global Consumption

The visualization on the right shows global alcohol consumption (liter of pure alcohol) per person in 2016. The average consumption globally is 6.4 liters, as marked in Chart 1.

Why some contries have high consumption rate while others are remarkably low? What's the commonalities among the countries?

Hover the country tabs below and observe on the map.

Low Rate:
High Rate:

Explore Categories

We have included different categories for you to explore. The change will be reflected in the map and the bar charts. Hover Me to Learn More.



Explore the map and the visualizations by changing the drop-down selection.

From Chart 2, ranked by heavy drinking and never drink, we can learn that for religious reasons, Middle Eastern countries like Iran, North African countries like Libya, and South East Asian countries like Indonesia have remarkably low consumption rate. Wet drinking culture (alcohol is integrated in life) countries have high intake rate, such as Germany, Ireland, and France.

Chart 1 - Ranking of Countries in Total Alcohol Consumption/yearHover over a bar or the map to see the ranking and the mapMDALTUCZENGADEULUXIRLLVABGRSVNROUFRAPRTBELSYCRUSPOLESTAUTSWZSVKGABGBRHUNGNQANDBLRSRBURYCYPNZLFINAUSLAOGRCDNKKORESPLCAUSANAMGEOARGBRBUGATZAKNAZAFGRDCHLSWEISLRWAHRVCANCMRNLDUKRTTOBWAVNMTHADMABFAMLTMKDMNEJPNPANCOGBRAKAZNORITABDIALBMNGPRYCHNATGDOMKHMBLZPHLMEXBIHAGOPERGUYKGZCUBNRULBRHTICOLSLEINDVENARMTKMNICSURLSOZWEZMBGNBCRIMMRBOLECUBHSLKAJAMHNDPRKAREISRGMBMWISLVMUSKENTJKCAFTGOFJIBENETHUZBMDVGHACODFSMWSMMOZGTMTLSTURSGPQATNPLTUNMDGBHRTONLBNTCDSLBMLIGINERIPNGVUTIRNMYSCOMDZAOMNIDNAZESENJORMARBTNSDNNERDJIKIRIRQEGYBRNSYRPAKSAUAFGYEM02468101214Liter/CapitaEquivalent to 53 bottles of wine!Internation Average: 6.4 Liter
Map - Alcohol consumption per person, 2016Hover over the map to see each country's data051015
Chart 2 - Ranking of Countries in Selected Category% of people who drank last year% of people who had heavy drinking session in the past 30 days% of people who never drank last year% of people who never drinkMDALTUCZEDEUNGAIRLLUXLVABGRFRAROUSVNPRTBELSYCRUSAUTESTPOLGABSVKSWZHUNGBRANDGNQBLRSRBCYPURYFINNZLAUSDNKGRCLAOKORESPLCAARGGEONAMUSABRBUGAKNATZACHLGRDZAFSWEISLRWACMRCANHRVNLDUKRBWATTOTHAVNMBFADMAMKDMLTJPNMNEPANBRACOGKAZALBBDIITANORMNGCHNPRYATGDOMBLZKHMPHLMEXAGOBIHGUYPERKGZCUBNRUCOLHTILBRINDSLEVENARMTKMNICSURLSOBOLCRIGNBMMRZMBZWEBHSECULKAJAMHNDPRKGMBISRARESLVMWIMUSKENCAFTJKTGOBENFJIETHGHAMDVUZBCODFSMWSMGTMMOZTLSNPLQATSGPTURBHRMDGTUNTCDLBNTONSLBERIGINMLIPNGIRNVUTDZACOMMYSAZEIDNOMNJORSENBTNMARDJINERSDNBRNEGYIRQKIRPAKSYRAFGSAUYEM050100150200250300350400% in population

Global Consumption Trend

How does the global alcohol consumption change over the years?
Average per capita alcohol consumption (Liters)Draw the rest of the trend line here.The US's overall trend is very stable over the years.Click the "Show All Actual" button to reveal all country trend.196019651970197519801985199019952000200520100246810121416

Global Trend

What does the alcohol consumption trend look like over the years? Does it go up or down, or different countries have different trend?

In the coordinates on the left, the line represents the trend for the US from 1960 to 1980.

Draw the rest of the US's consumption trend to your estimate! When you are ready, click "Show Actual".

Alcohol consumption is prevalent globally; however, regional differences play a big part in the consumption rate.

Now let’s take a look at the U.S. data.

US Regional Differences

How does geography or city locations impact the consumption distribution?

All States

Take a guess at the statistics!
For adults reporting excessive drinking (%):
Which state has the most?
Which state has the least?
Which county has the most?
Which county has the least?
The national average is %
For driving deaths with alcohol involved (%):
Which state has the most?
Which state has the least?
Which county has the most?
Which county has the least?
The national average is %

We have seen how prevalent alcohol consumption is globally and the regional differences.
Let’s now delve into the reasons that people consume alcohol.

Reasons for Consumption

Why do people drink alcohol? What are the social-economical reasons?

There are multiple reasons for people choose to consume alcohol.

Yet, unregulated drinking can lead to Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), permanent health complications, and even death.

Health Impacts from Alcohol

How much impact and damages can alcohol make to your body?
BehaviorCancerBrainHeartLungLiverStomachPancreasOtherImmune SystemCirculatory SystemReproduction SystemSkeletal SystemMuscular SystemNutritionBehavioral change—Alcohol use disorder251Head and neck cancer Esophageal Cancer167Liver Cancer1934Breast Cancer128Colorectal Cancer Prostate Cancer671Motor Function Cognition Neural System Arrhythmias9692Stroke—Hypertension (blood pressure)368Alcoholic cardiomyopathy257Ischemic heart disease92Tuberculosis—Pneumonia—Steatosis—Chronic hepatitis1Fibrosis—Alcoholic liver disease3757Liver cirrhosis35Portal hypertension123Bloating—Ulcers—Alcoholic gastritis15Esophageal varices30Gastroesophageal hemorrhage485Aspiration74Chronic Pancreatitis84Acute Pancreatitis244Air space transport35Child maltreatment47Drowning281Fall injuries2318Fire injuries381Firearm injuries37Homicide 2039Hypothermia65MV non-traffic crashes59MV traffic crashes - men2722MV traffic crashes - women812Occupational and machine injuries84Other MV crashes34Non-alcohol poisoning800Suicide 2028Water transport34Pneumonia—Tuberculosis—Fatigue—Anemia—Diabetes complications—Paresthesia—Excessive blood alcohol level1.8Alcohol poisoning75Infertility—Sexual dysfunction—Birth defects—Low birthweight—Prematurity—Thinning bones—Muscle cramps—Malnutrition—Oropharyngeal Cancer16Pharyngeal Cancer—Laryngeal Cancer253Dysarthria (Slurred Speech)—Motor Paralysis—Syncope (Fainting)—Hallucination—Alcoholic psychosis146Cerebral atrophy—Alcoholic polyneuropathy1.8Epilepsy59Stroke, hemorrhagic361Stroke, ischemic59BehaviorCancerOrganOtherRootSystem
ArrhythmiasAlcoholic liver diseaseMV traffic crashes - menFall injuriesHomicide Suicide Liver CancerMV traffic crashes - womenNon-alcohol poisoningProstate CancerGastroesophageal hemorrhageFire injuriesHypertension (blood pressure)Stroke, hemorrhagicDrowningAlcoholic cardiomyopathyLaryngeal CancerAlcohol use disorder9692375727222318203920281934812800671485381368361281257253251Ranking of Alcohol Attributed Mortality by Health Condition

Health Impact

The impact on physical and mental health attributed to alcohol can be significant. The visualization shows the health conditions attributed to alcohol. The bar represents the corresponding death number caused by alcohol for that condition per 1,000,000 people, and highlights the top deaths.




We can see multiple organs can be damaged by alcohol intake, and it can eventually lead to the development of cancer. In addition, alcohol could lead to injuries, accidents, and suicide due to its mood-altering effect.


Click the condition names to show detail.



Condition Mortalities

By calculating using "Alcohol-attributable fraction" and the number of total death per 1,000,000 people from Alcohol-Related Disease Impact, we created this ranking chart on the left.

Arrhythmia or supraventricular cardiac dysrrhythmia has the highest death number resulted from alcohol. Additionally, traffic crash, homicide and suicide are high on the rank as well.

Hover over the graph to see detail.

Death

How much death does alcohol cause world wide?
0.020M40M60M80M100M120M140M160M180M200M220M19901992199419961998200020022004200620082010201220142016placeholderTotal number of deaths by risk factor
19901992199419961998200020022004200620082010201220142016
BRUSH IT!

  nRisk factors for death

High blood pressureSmokingHigh plasma glucoseAir pollutionHigh body-mass indexDiet high in sodiumDiet low in whole grainsAlcohol useDiet low in fruitsChild wastingHousehold air pollution from solid fuelsDiet low in nuts and seedsUnsafe water sourceLow birth weight for gestationDiet low in vegetablesUnsafe sexDiet low in seafood omegaSecondhand smokeUnsafe sanitationLow physical activityNo access to handwashing facilityDiet low in fiberVitamin A deficiencyChild stuntingDiet low in legumesDrug useNon-exclusive breastfeedingLow bone mineral densityDiet low in calciumIron deficiencyZinc deficiencyDiscontinued breastfeedingDiet high in red meat890M680M510M490M350M280M270M260M230M220M220M180M160M160M150M140M120M120M120M110M95M76M60M59M51M46M32M23M15M9.4M7.8M2.1M1.9Mplaceholder

Worldwide

Alcohol use is ranked 8th among the 33 the risk factors that cause the most premature death worldwide. On average about 4.37% of the premature deaths has been caused by alcohol use in this region, causing more than 2.8 million premature death every year.

Victims Stories

What's the stories of the people with the detrimental habit?

Selected from various news report and online obituary, each white cross represents a victim. The faded crosses commemorate the countless other victims other than the ones whose stories are presented here.

Hover over the white crosses to read their story.
placeholder
SuicideHomicideCar accidentLiver failureAlcohol poisoningAlcoholism Multiple gendersFemaleMale Multiple ages>50 y/o31-50 y/o19-30 y/o< 18 y/oviviiiiiiiviiiiiiiiiiiviiiiiiviiiiiiiiiiiiiviiiviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiviiiiiDeath ageGenderCause type<18 y/oMaleLiver failureHover overfor storyCountlessother victims

The risks of drinking alcohol is frightening.

A group of people that are subjected to those damages exponentially are the people who are suffering from Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD).

Alcohol Use Disorder

What is AUD and who are likely to become the victims of AUD?

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) or commonly known as Alcoholism, is a chronic relapsing brain disorder characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences.

AUD Demography

If the grid on the left represents the U.S.A. alcohol consumption in 2018 . . .




Continue scrolling to reveal the visualizations.

Prevalence

About 26.5% of adults in the US suffer from binged alcohol use, 6.6% of adults in the US suffer from heavy alcohol use, and 5.8% of adults in the US suffer from alcohol use disorder.



Alcohol Abuse Breakdown:
No indication of alcohol abuse
Binged Alcohol Use
Heavy Alcohol Use
Alcohol Use Disorder




Keep scrolling to view mappings within AUD population

Across Age

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) affects people of all ages. Working-age adults more predominantly report having AUD.



Age Mapping within Alcohol Use Disorder Population
Age 12-17
Age 18-25
Age 26-49
Age 50+

Gender

Men tend to suffer disproportionately from AUD. According to researchers at Harvard Medical School, men are more susceptible to addiction. They are more likely to abuse substances due to peer pressure. However, women are more likely to go to the emergency room or fatally overdose due to substance abuse. [link].



Gender Identity within Alcohol Use Disorder Population
Male
Female

Treatment

Only around 16% of people from the surveyed population diagnosed with AUD received any form of specialized treatment for AUD. Possibly, those who suffer from the disorder do not know how or where to get treatment. Moreover, they might not want to be associated with the negative stigma of having the disorder.



Received Treatment within Alcohol Use Disorder Population
Received treatment
Did not receive treatment

Avenue for Recovery and Treatment

You can help! According to the survey, 60.6% of people who sought AUD treatment chose Self-help groups as their avenue for treatment.

Treatment via self-help groups tends to be more economical than other forms of treatment. This finding is encouraging since we can help our loved ones through their recovery journey by providing support, a sense of community and belonging, and empathy! [link]



Avenue for Treatment within AUD Treated Population
Others
Self-Help Group

AUD and Mental Health

How does mental health condition contribute to the consumption of alcohol and AUD?

We will now explore mental health disorders as a risk factor for alcohol dependency or abuse. The values in this chart represents an increased risk of developing alcohol dependency or abuse in individuals with a given mental health disorder relative to those without.

For example, a value of 3.2 for PTSD, would indicate that individuals with PTSD are 3.2 times as likely to develop alcohol dependency relative to those without.

Intermittent explosive disorderDysthymiaODDBipolar disorderSocial phobiaAny anxiety disorderPanic disorderPTSDDBDSeparation anxietySpecific phobiaASPDAgoraphobiaConduct disorderAny mood disorderADHDGADMajor depression1-22-33-44-55+

Prevention

Research shows that preventions is just as important, if not more important, than treatment.

Thus, if you know someone who currently have any of these mental health disorder, be on the look out for any development of AUD!



Hover over each mental health disorder to learn more.


Recovery Stories

Many people have experienced the damage caused by alcohol and sought ways to recover and rehabilitate.


Click the particles to see Sam, Odette, Leia, and Flip's stories.

1

"Life felt toxic. I remember feeling an intense lack of passion,purpose or direction and drinking became my distraction."

Read Odette's Story


Diagnose and Solutions

Do you feel like you or your loved one might have AUD?

Perform a self diagnose following the guide below or ask a medical professional for accurate diagnose and treatment:

Professional Diagnose

Professional health care is often in a better position to accurately diagnose the problem, design treatment plans and refer you to the right mental health professionals.

We hope that this data visualization project showed you something new or informative about alcohol consumption and its issues.

Anyone could fall the victim to AUD. Make sure to use your best judgement and take care of yourself and your loved ones.


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