The global effects of alcohol consumption on Gross Domestic Product in high- and low-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT Aims and objectives This study aims to measure the disease burden and the economic burden associated with alcohol consumption in both high- and low-income countries. To emphasise the necessity of making this issue a worldwide priority, the percentage of GDP attributable to alcohol-related costs will be stated. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis Data sources A systematic search concerning health and social costs was conducted primarily through PubMed and subsequent citation chaining of appropriate systematic reviews. Other electronic databases such as Google Scholar was also freely searched. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Observational studies examining alcohol-related harm, alcohol-related disease, and alcohol-related expenditure with all studies measuring alcohol-related harm using the alcohol-attributable fraction (AAF). Results 9 cross-sectional studies were obtained assessing the consequences of alcohol on the respective country’s economy with all studies utilising a prevalence-based approach. 5 studies were eligible for a meta-analysis in the statistically programming software, R. The pooled estimate of the economic burden of alcohol in 5 countries equated to be 0.01% of GDP. Though inconsistencies in cost estimations resulted in an underestimation, our results provide evidence to suggest that alcohol negatively affects both individuals and society. The available literature on the topic of the economic impact of alcohol is inadequate; especially when investigating concerns in poorer regions of the world. Conclusion Though the current estimate of global GDP attributable to alcohol use is low, the evidence suggesting the global increase of alcohol consumption is paramount to avoid future calamities. Cooperative leadership from the World Health Organisation (WHO), International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank are requisite to control the harmful patterns of alcohol consumption seen across the globe. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY This is the first systematic review assessing the detrimental consequences of alcohol on economic health with the inclusion of both lower-middle income and high-income countries. This study provides a pooled estimate of the global estimate of the percentage of GDP attributable to alcohol related costs using statistical package, R which has not been done before. The obtainment of research conducted in low-income countries proved to be difficult, and as a result no low-middle income countries were used when calculating the pooled estimate. Therefore, the accuracy of the provided estimate was decreased.