There are still significantly more men than women dying from causes that can be linked to alcohol, but the gap has narrowed in recent decades.

The main reason for the equalization is that fewer men die because of alcohol. But while male deaths are steadily declining, there has instead been a minor increase among women dying in the suites of alcohol-related illnesses. Among women, deaths have risen from 7.7 to 8.9 per hundred thousand inhabitants since the late 1980s.

Calculated per 100,000 inhabitants, 7-9 women have died annually as a result of alcohol over the past 30 years. During the same period, the men have reduced from around 40 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants to around 30 deaths. Photo: SVT Grafik

- On a general level, it is about increased gender equality in society that gives women and men more similar lifestyles where, among other things, alcohol consumption is a part, says Mats Ramstedt, research leader at the Central Association for Alcohol and Drug Information, CAN.

Men as a group today drink about twice as much alcohol as women, but here too the gap narrows. In 1990, Swedish women's self-reported alcohol consumption was 1.5 liters of pure alcohol. In 2018, it was almost double that, 2.7 liters.

Therefore, that women today make up a larger proportion of the deaths is not a surprise to Mats Ramstedt.

- We know that consumption is relatively well linked to the injury trend, he says.

Women as a group consume almost twice as much alcohol today as they did in the early 1990s. Photo: SVT design

Elderly who dies

According to the National Board of Health, about 2,000 people die each year from causes that can be linked to alcohol, but the number of blacks can be considerably greater. Cancer cases, for example, are not included in the statistics - even though the links between alcohol consumption and cancer are well-established.

Among the deaths, the group of the elderly stands out among both men and women. The vast majority are in the age range of 60-74 years.

- Having lived with alcohol abuse for a long time increases the risk of illness. For example, you can get cirrhosis of the liver that can lead to death, says Michaela Prochazka, coordinator for elderly issues at the National Board of Health and Welfare.

She also points out that the attitude to alcohol has changed among the elderly.

- Now we have an older generation who were young in the 60s and 70s where the attitude to alcohol was more liberal. As the proportion of older people increases, that group is also getting bigger now.