Report tallies $223 billion in total losses, especially from binge drinking

TUESDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) — Excessive drinking is a major economic problem in the United States, costing billions of dollars in health care costs, lost worker productivity and other consequences involved, the federal government reported Tuesday.

The nationwide economic burden of excessive drinking in 2006 was $223.5 billion. The cost for each state ranged from $420 million in North Dakota to $32 billion in California. The median cost per state for each single alcoholic drink was $1.91, the report said.

The highest per-person cost from excessive drinking was $1,662 in Washington, D.C. [Read more…]

Psychiatric screening would help identify soldiers at greatest risk, experts say

TUESDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) — The suicide rate in the U.S. military has risen in recent years, but a large new study finds no proof that the problem directly stems from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Instead, researchers say, the risk factors for suicide in the military are the same as those in the civilian world: depression, drinking problems and being a man. They found no clear link between suicide and the number of deployments to Afghanistan or Iraq, or to combat exposure. [Read more…]