High-Risk Drinking Rate Rises for 2 Consecutive Years During Daily Life Recovery... "Caution Needed for Summer Vacation Season"

The high-risk drinking rate, which had decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, was found to have increased last year as daily life resumed. This marks a rise for the second consecutive year following 2021. The high-risk drinking rate refers to the proportion of people who, in the past year, drank seven or more glasses of soju (five cans of beer) for men, and five or more glasses of soju (three cans of beer) for women, at drinking occasions at least twice a week.

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The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced on the 10th the results of an analysis of the high-risk drinking rate based on the Community Health Survey conducted from August 16 to October 31 last year, targeting 230,000 adults aged 19 and older.

The adult high-risk drinking rate was 12.6% last year, up from 11.0% the previous year. From 2013 to 2018, the adult high-risk drinking rate hovered in the low 14-15% range, but dropped sharply to 10.9% in 2020, the first year of COVID-19, due to social distancing measures. However, it increased again last year following the trend of daily life recovery.

Among metropolitan municipalities, Gangwon had the highest high-risk drinking rate at 16.1%. In contrast, Sejong had the lowest at 6.1%. The gap between these two municipalities was as much as 10 percentage points. Among basic local governments, Gangwon’s Jeongseon (22.1%), Yanggu (21.5%), and Hongcheon (20.6%) had rates above 20%, while Jeollanam-do Boseong County (6.9%), Seoul Jongno (7.0%), and Gyeonggi Seongnam Bundang (7.0%) were on the lower side.

High high-risk drinking rates often led to a decrease in life expectancy. Healthy life expectancy refers to the lifespan excluding periods of illness or disability from overall life expectancy. Among the ten cities, counties, and districts with the highest high-risk drinking rates, eight?including Gangwon’s Jeongseon, Yanggu, Hongcheon, Cheorwon, Samcheok; Chungnam Taean; Gyeonggi Dongducheon; and Jeonnam Yeosu?had healthy life expectancies below the national average of 70.9 years.

Ji Young-mi, director of the KDCA, stated, “The drinking rate, which had decreased after the COVID-19 outbreak, is showing an increasing trend. We urge people to be especially cautious about excessive drinking during the summer vacation season, when drinking culture is prevalent, and for those with chronic diseases such as hypertension or diabetes to practice moderation or abstinence.” She added, “Health management such as reducing alcohol consumption is urgently needed in regions with high high-risk drinking rates and low healthy life expectancy.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.