Alcohol-related death rates by sex, United Kingdom, 1991-2007
Figures on alcohol-related deaths in 2007 indicate a levelling-off of the trend, following rapid increases since the early 1990s. There were 8,724 alcohol-related deaths in 2007, lower than 2006, but more than double the 4,144 recorded in 1991. The alcohol-related death rate was 13.3 per 100,000 population in 2007, compared with 6.9 per 100,000 population in 1991.
There are more alcohol-related deaths in men than in women. In 2007, the male alcohol-related death rate was 18.1 deaths per 100,000 population, more than twice the rate for females of 8.7 per 100,000. Males accounted for approximately two-thirds of the total number of deaths. There were 5,732 alcohol-related deaths in men and 2,992 in women. The rate of male deaths has almost doubled from 9.1 per 100,000 population in 1991, while there have been steadier increases in female rates, rising from 5.0 per 100,000 in 1991.
The trends differ according to age. For males, alcohol-related deaths in those aged 15-34 increased slightly from 2.4 per 100,000 population in 2006 to 2.6 in 2007. Deaths in other age groups decreased. The largest decrease occurred in males aged 35-54, from 31.1 per 100,000 population in 2006 to 30.2 per 100,000 in 2007. Since 1991, the highest alcohol-related death rates have occurred in men aged 55-74 and the rate for this group in 2007 was 44.3 per 100,000 population.
Male alcohol-related death rates by age-group, United Kingdom, 1991-2007
Alcohol-related death rates among females have been consistently lower than rates for males, although trends demonstrate a broadly similar pattern across different age groups. Between 2006 and 2007 rates for females aged 15-35 increased from 1.1 to 1.4 per 100,000.
At the same time, rates for females aged 35-54 and 55-74 both decreased by 0.3 per 100,000 population to 14.5 and 20.8 respectively. As for men, the highest alcohol-related death rates for women are in those aged 55-74. In 2007, the rate for this group was 20.8 per 100,000 population.
Source: Office for National Statistics, General Register Office for Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
Notes: The ONS definition of alcohol-related deaths (which includes causes regarded as most directly due to alcohol consumption) was revised in 2006. Details can be found via link on this page to 'Alcohol-related deaths in the UK'. ONS has agreed with the GROS and NISRA that this definition will be used to report alcohol-related deaths for the UK.
The introduction of the Tenth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) for coding cause of death means that data following its implementation are not completely comparable with earlier years. Mortality data for England and Wales show that the introduction of ICD-10 resulted in a difference in the number of alcohol-related deaths below one per cent.
Rates are based on deaths registered in each calendar year and are directly age-standardised using the European Standard Population.
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Health Statistics Quarterly