A new study, published in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) journal Preventing Chronic Disease, examined the relationship between excessive alcohol consumption and premature death in the U.S. Using data from the CDC’s Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application for the years between 2006 and 2010, the researchers found the proportion of total deaths that were attributable to excessive alcohol consumption among working-age adults.

According to USA Today, the study demonstrates that one in 10 deaths among working-age adults during the period studied were attributable to excessive drinking. This meant that excessive alcohol use was responsible for approximately 88,000 deaths between 2006 and 2010. The lives of those who died were shortened by about 30 years.

The researchers also note that this means there is a high economic impact, given that 70 percent of deaths related to alcohol consumption were in working age adults. This is the segment of the population that is productive and contributing to the economy. The more that die as a result of alcohol consumption, the greater the economic impact.

Excessive alcohol consumption includes binge drinking, heavy weekly alcohol consumption and drinking while underage or pregnant. Binge drinking translates to four or more drinks per occasion for women and five or more for men. Excessive alcohol consumption causes death due to long-term health effects such as liver disease and heart disease, as well as short-period effects such as violence, alcohol poisoning, car crashes, and drowning.