University of Wisconsin–Madison ⋅ Medical College of Wisconsin
WMJ

A Silent Wave: Increases in Wisconsin’s Alcohol- Related Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Thomas Bentley, MS; Paul D. Creswell, PhD

WMJ. 2025;124(3):270-273.

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ABSTRACT

Background: Alcohol-related mortality is an increasing public health concern in the United States. To date, no study has considered trends in alcohol-related deaths during the full COVID-19 pandemic period.

Methods: We analyzed deaths from Wisconsin vital statistics to explore the relationship between the pandemic period and any changes in alcohol-related mortality.

Results: In Wisconsin, the pandemic period was associated with additional alcohol-related mortality above and beyond a previously reported upward trend.

Discussion: We show that the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with exacerbated alcohol-related mortality in Wisconsin. Alcohol use may need to be considered as an additional public health risk in future pandemic scenarios.

Author Affiliations: Division of Care and Treatment Services, Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Bureau of Prevention Treatment and Recovery, Madison, Wisconsin (Bentley); University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, supporting the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health, Madison, Wisconsin (Creswell).
Corresponding Author: Paul D. Creswell, PhD, Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance Senior Epidemiologist, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, supporting the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health, email pdcreswell@wisc.edu; ORCID ID 0000-0001-8432-0017
Financial Disclosures: None declared.
Funding/Support: None declared.
Acknowledgements: The authors would like to acknowledge the following individuals for their assistance with the creation of this manuscript. Nathaniel Keeley, Laura Ninneman, and Xioyan Wang at the Wisconsin Vital Records Office provided invaluable assistance with the vital records data.
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