NCHS - U.S. National Center for Health Statistics
01/15/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/14/2026 23:12
Rate of Emergency Department Visits for Alcohol-Specific Diagnoses, by Sex, National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, United States, 2003–2004 to 2021–2022
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by Xianghua Yin, Ph.D., M.D., Adaeze O'Jiaku-Okorie, M.P.H., and Christine A. Lucas, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.S.W.
A rising prevalence of alcohol-related emergency department (ED) visits has been observed in the United States, increasing the burden on hospital resources (1,2). From 2021 to 2023, alcohol was the most common substance involved in substance-related ED visits, outpacing opioids and cannabis (3). This report presents ED visit estimates by sex from 2003-2004 to 2021-2022 for alcohol-specific diagnoses of conditions presented in the ED that were caused exclusively by alcohol use. Data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) were used for this analysis (4,5).
Article Metrics
From 2003-2004 to 2021-2022, the count of ED visits for alcohol-specific diagnoses among males increased by 101%, from 1,986,000 to 3,998,000 visits (Figure 1, Table 1). Over the same 20-year period, the count of ED visits for alcohol-specific diagnoses among females increased by a similar percentage of 96%, from 701,000 to 1,374,000 visits. From 2003-2004 to 2021-2022, the rate of alcohol-specific diagnoses visits for males increased by 75%, from 71 to 124 visits per 10,000 population (Figure 2, Table 2). Over the same period, the alcohol-specific diagnoses visit rate for females increased by a similar percentage of 71%, from 24 to 41 visits. Throughout the period, the alcohol-specific diagnoses visit rate for males was higher than for females.
Data source and methods
NHAMCS, conducted annually by the National Center for Health Statistics from 1992 to 2022, was a national probability sample of visits to the EDs of nonfederal, general, and short-stay hospitals in the United States. Sampling design details for NHAMCS are described elsewhere (6). NHAMCS data on ED visits during 2003-2022 were used for this analysis.
Rates are based on samples of a biannual average of 968 ED visits by patients with an alcohol-specific diagnosis, representing a biannual average of about 4.32 million ED visits. Visit rates were calculated by dividing the number of ED visits by the estimates of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population developed by the U.S. Census Bureau and reflect the population as of July 1 for 2003 through 2022. Data analyses were performed using SAS-callable SUDAAN software (7).
For 2003-2015, visits with an alcohol-specific diagnosis were defined by the following codes in any of the diagnosis fields: 291, 303, 305.0, 357.5, 425.5, 535.3, 571.0-571.3, 655.4, 760.71, 790.3, 980.0, and 980.9, and by any-listed cause of injury code E860.0, based on the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) (8). For 2016-2022, alcohol-specific diagnoses visits were defined by the following codes in any of the diagnosis fields: F10.1, F10.2, F10.9, G62.1, I42.6, K29.2, K70.0-K70.4, K70.9, Q86.0, R78.0, T51.0, and T51.9, based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) (9). This definition is based on 100% alcohol-attributable diagnoses listed by the alcohol-related ICD codes (5).
Diagnoses that cannot be identified as alcohol-specific by NHAMCS (such as falls or motor vehicle crashes, among others) were excluded from this analysis. Alcohol-specific diagnoses that cannot be identified by either ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM were also excluded.
References
- Talwalkar A, Ahmad F. QuickStats: Rate of emergency department visits for alcohol-related diagnoses, by sex-National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, United States, 2001-2002 to 2009-2010. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2013 Sep; 62(35):731.
- Mullins PM, Mazer-Amirshahi M, Pines JM. Alcohol-related visits to US emergency departments, 2001-2011. Alcohol and Alcoholism. 2017 Jan;52(1):119-25. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agw074.
- Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. Drug abuse warning network (DAWN): Alcohol-related ED visits short report. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Available from: https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/dawn-alcohol-related-ed-visits-short-report.
- National Center for Health Statistics: NHAMCS questionnaires, datasets, and documentation. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhamcs/documentation/index.html.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alcohol-related ICD codes. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/ardi/alcohol-related-icd-codes.html.
- McCaig LF, McLemore T. Plan and operation of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Survey. Series 1: Programs and collection procedures. Vital Health Stat 1. 1994 Jul;(34):1-78. PMID: 7975355.
- RTI International. SUDAAN (Release 11.0.3) [computer software]. 2018.
- International classification of diseases, ninth revision, clinical modification (ICD-9-CM). Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Available from: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/coding-billing/icd-10-codes/icd-9-cm-diagnosis-procedure-codes-abbreviated-and-full-code-titles.
- International classification of diseases, 10th revision, clinical modification (ICD-10-CM). National Center for Health Statistics. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/icd/icd-10-cm/.
Suggested citation
Yin X, O'Jiaku-Okorie A, Lucas CA. Rate of emergency department visits for alcohol-specific diagnoses, by sex: United States, 2003-2004 to 2021-2022. NCHS Health E-Stat. 2026 Jan;(109):1-5. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc/174637.
Table 1. Annual average count of emergency department visits for alcohol-specific diagnoses, by sex: United States, 2003-2004 to 2021-2022
| Survey year |
Estimated ED visit count for females |
95% confidence interval |
Estimated ED visit count for males |
95% confidence interval |
| Number in thousands | ||||
| 2003-2004 | 701 | 582-820 | 1,986 | 1,757-2,216 |
| 2005-2006 | 928 | 773-1,084 | 2,247 | 1,952-2,542 |
| 2007-2008 | 826 | 682-970 | 2,447 | 2,142-2,753 |
| 2009-2010 | 1,115 | 922-1,308 | 2,830 | 2,460-3,200 |
| 2011-2012 | 1,371 | 1,140-1,603 | 3,206 | 2,795-3,618 |
| 2013-2014 | 1,417 | 1,093-1,742 | 3,272 | 2,721-3,824 |
| 2015-2016 | 1,594 | 1,304-1,884 | 3,652 | 3,147-4,157 |
| 2017-2018 | 1,404 | 1,121-1,688 | 3,050 | 2,530-3,570 |
| 2019-2020 | 1,630 | 1,271-1,988 | 4,142 | 3,443-4,842 |
| 2021-2022 | 1,374 | 1,067-1,681 | 3,998 | 3,403-4,594 |
NOTES: Emergency department (ED) visit counts were estimated based on a 2-year annual average. Alcohol-specific diagnoses for 2003-2015 are defined as any-listed diagnosis codes 291, 303, 305.0, 357.5, 425.5, 535.3, 571.0-571.3, 655.4, 760.71, 790.3, 980.0 and 980.9, and any-listed cause of injury code E860.0, based on the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). Alcohol-specific diagnoses for 2016-2022 is defined as any-listed diagnosis codes F10.1, F10.2, F10.9, G62.1, I42.6, K29.2, K70.0-K70.4, K70.9, Q86.0, R78.0, T51.0, and T51.9, based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM). Not included are ED visits that are not specifically attributed to alcohol use, such as falls, motor vehicle crashes, and other types of injuries or conditions like cancer. To ensure parity across the observed study period, certain ICD-10-CM alcohol-specific diagnoses codes, such as alcohol-induced pancreatitis and alcohol myopathy, were excluded.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2003-2004 to 2021-2022.
Table 2. Rate of emergency department visits for alcohol-specific diagnoses, by sex: United States, 2003-2004 to 2021-2022
| Survey year | Visit rate per 10,000 females | Standard error | 95% confidence interval | Visit rate per 10,000 males | Standard error | 95% confidence interval |
| 2003-2004 | 24 | 2.1 | 19.8-27.9 | 71 | 4.2 | 62.6-79.0 |
| 2005-2006 | 31 | 2.7 | 25.9-36.3 | 78 | 5.3 | 68.2-88.7 |
| 2007-2008 | 27 | 2.4 | 22.5-31.9 | 84 | 5.4 | 73.5-94.5 |
| 2009-2010 | 36 | 3.2 | 29.9-42.4 | 95 | 6.4 | 82.9-107.8 |
| 2011-2012 | 44 | 3.8 | 36.2-50.9 | 107 | 7.0 | 93.1-120.5 |
| 2013-2014 | 44 | 5.2 | 34.2-54.5 | 107 | 9.2 | 89.2-125.3 |
| 2015-2016 | 49 | 4.6 | 40.2-58.1 | 118 | 8.3 | 101.5-134.1 |
| 2017-2018 | 43 | 4.4 | 34.1-51.4 | 97 | 8.4 | 80.5-113.6 |
| 2019-2020 | 49 | 5.5 | 38.4-60.1 | 130 | 11.2 | 107.8-151.7 |
| 2021-2022 | 41 | 4.7 | 32.1-50.6 | 124 | 9.4 | 105.2-142.0 |
NOTES: The rate per 10,000 population is based on a 2-year annual average. Rates were calculated using estimates of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population developed by the U.S. Census Bureau and reflect the population as of July 1 for 2003 through 2022. Alcohol-specific diagnoses for 2003-2015 are defined as any-listed diagnosis codes 291, 303, 305.0, 357.5, 425.5, 535.3, 571.0-571.3, 655.4, 760.71, 790.3, 980.0 and 980.9, and any-listed cause of injury code E860.0, based on the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). Alcohol-specific diagnoses for 2016-2022 is defined as any-listed diagnosis codes F10.1, F10.2, F10.9, G62.1, I42.6, K29.2, K70.0-K70.4, K70.9, Q86.0, R78.0, T51.0, and T51.9, based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM). Not included are emergency department visits that are not specifically attributed to alcohol use, such as falls, motor vehicle crashes, and other types of injuries or conditions like cancer. To ensure parity across the observed study period, certain ICD-10-CM alcohol-specific diagnoses codes, such as alcohol-induced pancreatitis and alcohol myopathy, were excluded.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2003-2004 to 2021-2022.
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