Status: 01/31/2023 11:16 am
Fewer adolescents required hospital treatment for excessive alcohol consumption in 2021. Compared to the pre-corona level, the number has fallen by 42 percent. The risk of alcohol poisoning is particularly high among young people.
Contact restrictions, canceled festivals and parties: During the corona pandemic, fewer children and adolescents had to be hospitalized for acute alcohol abuse. The Federal Statistical Office counted around 11,700 cases among ten to 19 year olds in 2021, a decrease of 4.4 percent compared to the previous year. Compared to 2019, i.e. before the start of the corona pandemic, the number fell by 42.3 percent.
In the first year of the corona pandemic, significantly fewer people were hospitalized for alcohol abuse due to the contact restrictions, as the Federal Office announced. This trend intensified in 2021. It was the lowest number of cases in 20 years.
Men tend to binge drink more
The risk of alcohol poisoning is still particularly high among young people: with 9,500 cases in 2021, of all age groups, most cases were in 15 to 19 year olds. This was followed by the 50 to 54 year olds (7100 cases).
Men in particular are more prone to binge drinking than women. In almost all age groups, their proportion is higher than that of women. The difference is most pronounced in the 45 to 49 age group, with a male share of 76 percent.