Deaths from alcohol-related diseases rise by 4% in a year

onmedica

By Ingrid Torjesen

July 1, 2016

The number of deaths related to the consumption of alcohol rose by 4% between 2013 and 2014 to 6,830 deaths, figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre published in Statistics on Alcohol – England, 2016 show.

The number of deaths in 2014 was 13% higher than 2004, and alcoholic liver disease accounted for nearly two-thirds (63%) of the deaths.

The estimated number of hospital admissions where an alcohol-related disease, injury or condition was the primary reason or there was an alcohol-related external cause, was 333,000 in 2014-15 – 32% higher than 2004-05. Regional data show the Local Authority area with the highest number of such admissions per 100,000 population was Blackpool with 1,220. Wokingham also had the lowest rate at 380.

In 2014-15 there were an estimated 1.09 million hospital admissions for which alcohol-related disease, injury or condition was the primary reason for admission or a secondary diagnosis, compared to 1.06 million in 2013-14. Men were more likely to be admitted, accounting for two thirds of the admissions (65%).

There has also been a rise in the number of drugs prescribed for the treatment of alcohol dependence. The number of prescription items dispensed in England in 2015 was 196,000 – nearly double the number ten years ago, when it was 109,000. The total Net Ingredient Cost (NIC) for items prescribed for alcohol dependence in 2015 was £3.93 million – more than double the level ten years ago when it was £1.52 million.