Area-Level Social Determinants of Alcohol-Related Mortality: Knowledge Gaps and Implications for Community Health

Purpose: Rates of alcohol-related mortality (including deaths attributed to chronic alcohol use as well as acute causes involving alcohol) have been increasing in the United States, particularly for certain population subgroups, such as women. This review summarizes associations of area-level social determinants of health with alcohol-related mortality. These determinants, measured at the community, county, or state level, include alcohol control policies, health care availability, and a community's socioeconomic environment. Examining multiple geographic levels illuminates how macro-level social determinants and local contexts contribute to alcohol-related mortality to inform intervention. Attention to the broad variety of social determinants of alcohol-related mortality could ultimately improve community health.

Search methods: A literature search of three databases-PubMed, Web of Science, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL)-conducted between March 13 and May 16, 2023, identified peer-reviewed studies published from 1990 to May 2023 that modeled at least one area-level social determinant of health as a predictor or correlate of area-level rates of alcohol-related mortality in the United States. Unpublished dissertations, commentaries, editorials, review papers, and articles published in languages other than English were excluded. Two team members reviewed each abstract to verify that the article addressed alcohol-related mortality and included at least one area-level social determinant of health.

Search results: The authors screened 313 abstracts and excluded 210 that did not meet inclusion criteria. The full texts of 103 articles were retrieved. Upon further screening, 30 articles were excluded (two were not obtained), leaving 71 studies for detailed review.

Discussion and conclusions: Many studies analyzed fatal alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes or cirrhosis/liver disease mortality. Fewer analyzed other mortality causes related to chronic alcohol consumption. No studies focused on racism and discrimination, community-level prevention activities, or community social services in relation to alcohol-related mortality. Few studies examined major health policy changes or addressed health care system factors. Although the variation across studies complicates systematic comparison of the results, some key themes did emerge from the reviewed studies, such as the beneficial effects of stronger alcohol policies and the importance of socioeconomic conditions as determinants of alcohol-related mortality. Research using a more diverse set of theoretically informed social determinants may help examine whether, how, and for whom racism and discrimination as well as health policies and social services impact alcohol-related mortality. Finally, there is a gap in research linking local community contexts with alcohol-related mortality. Better understanding of subgroup differences, interactions between different contextual factors, and specific mechanisms of action may help identify promising new strategies to improve population health and reduce alcohol-related mortality.