Enlarge image
Ambulance with flashing lights: Empty bottles that were previously filled with alcoholic beverages can be seen in the foreground
Photo: David Young / picture alliance / dpa
Contact restrictions, canceled festivals and parties: During the corona pandemic, fewer children and adolescents had to be hospitalized for acute alcohol abuse.
The Federal Statistical Office counted around 11,700 cases among 10 to 19 year olds in 2021 - and thus a decrease of 4.4 percent compared to the previous year, as the authority announced on Tuesday in Wiesbaden.
Compared to 2019, i.e. before the start of the corona pandemic, the number fell by 42.3 percent.
Already in 2020 there were significantly fewer admissions to the hospital.
In 2021, the lowest number of cases since 2001 was reached, the Federal Office announced.
At that time, around 11,500 young people were treated in hospital for too much alcohol.
In comparison, the highest value was in 2012 with around 26,700 cases of treatment in this age group.
Demographic effects also play a role in the decline in numbers.
According to the information, the population in the age group of 10 to 19 year olds fell by 19 percent in a long-term comparison from 2001 to 2021.
Across all age groups, there were 69,300 cases in 2021, 9.1 percent fewer hospital treatments for alcohol abuse than in the previous year and almost a third fewer than in 2019.
Despite the falling number of cases, the risk of alcohol poisoning is still particularly high among young people.
In the age group of 15 to 19 year olds, the most cases were recorded in 2021 with 9500.
This is followed by the 50 to 54 year olds with 7100 cases.
The data from the Federal Statistical Office also indicate differences between the sexes.
In 2021, around 48,700 men had to be hospitalized because they had drunk too much alcohol.
That was 70.3 percent of all cases.
wit/dpa/AFP
