Causes of death among veterans with alcohol use disorder-related conditions: A 5-year follow-up study of Veterans Health Administration hospitalizations

12/08/2026

AI Summary

Veterans with AUD-related diagnoses die younger than those without (median age 62.0 vs 72.7 years).
Younger Veterans face substantially higher mortality with AUD; age 18 to 39 had OR 2.43 (95% CI 2.31 to 2.57).
Deaths in the AUD cohort disproportionately from gastrointestinal diseases (14.8% vs 2.8%) and external causes (12.2% vs 4.3%), supporting systems-level interventions.

J Hosp Med. 2026 Aug 11. doi: 10.1002/jhm.70425. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Alcohol use disorder-related (AUD) diagnoses are common among hospitalized Veterans. Our prior research found that the presence of any AUD-related diagnosis during hospital admission is associated with a 30% 5-year mortality rate.

OBJECTIVE: To compare demographics and causes of death between hospitalized patients within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) with and without AUD-related diagnoses.

METHODS: Cohort study of two populations of Veterans with and without AUD-related conditions admitted to VHA hospitals from October 2015 to September 2020. National Death Index (NDI) data for all admitted patients were obtained to identify those who had died by December 2022. Among patients who died, those with AUD-related diagnoses during the hospital stay were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes and compared with those without AUD-related diagnoses.

RESULTS: Out of 1,149,107 patients admitted to VHA, 411,101 deaths were reported. Of these, 58,498 deaths (14.2%) involved patients with an AUD-related diagnosis at admission and a median follow-up of 5.4 years. Deceased patients with AUD-related diagnoses were younger at study start (62.0 vs. 72.7 years) and had significantly higher odds of death among the 18-39 age group (odds ratio [OR]: 2.43; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.31, 2.57) compared with those without. Among causes of death, the biggest differences between the AUD-related and non-AUD-related cohorts were gastrointestinal diseases (14.8% vs. 2.8%) and external causes (12.2% vs. 4.3%).

CONCLUSION: Veterans with AUD-related conditions die younger than those without. This highlights the need for systems-level approaches, including screening, brief interventions, and linkage to postdischarge services, to comprehensively treat AUD.

PMID:42579727 | DOI:10.1002/jhm.70425

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