The increase in alcohol deaths in England since the pandemic represents an ‘acute crisis’ requiring urgent government action, says a study by researchers at the University of Sheffield and UCL. While the death rate was stable in the decade to 2019, the number of deaths then increased by a fifth in 2020 and a further 13 per cent between 2020 and 2022, it points out.
The researchers studied ONS figures for deaths caused solely by alcohol and estimated that almost 4,000 more people had died between 2020 and 2022 than would have been the case ‘if pre-pandemic trends had continued’. The largest increases were among men, people in deprived areas, and people aged 50 to 69, says the study, which is published in Lancet Public Health. Although there was an increase in deaths from acute causes – such as alcohol poisoning – the main increase in fatalities was the result of a ‘steep rise in liver damage caused by alcohol’, it states.
The increase in liver disease deaths was likely the result of increased consumption among heavier drinkers alongside factors such as ‘more frequent binge drinking’ and fewer people seeking treatment during the pandemic, it says. Persistent higher alcohol death rates post-pandemic have also been reported in Australia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Latvia and the US, the paper adds.
The most recent ONS figures showed the number of alcohol-specific deaths in the UK as a whole hitting their highest ever level, with almost 10,500 registered in 2023. As in previous years, the death rate for men was around double that for women, with the North East recording the highest alcohol-specific death rate for any English region. Alcohol-specific deaths only include those that can be wholly attributed to alcohol – such as alcohol-related liver disease – and exclude deaths from causes ‘that are made more likely by alcohol’ such as heart disease or various cancers, ONS points out.
A report from Public Health Scotland last month predicted that the number of people living with chronic liver disease in Scotland would increase by more than 50 per cent by 2044, equating to an additional 23,100 people, with more than 70 per cent of chronic liver disease cases caused by alcohol.
‘The increase in alcohol deaths is entrenching existing health inequalities, with large absolute increases among men and among people from deprived areas,’ said Professor Colin Angus from the University of Sheffield’s School of Medicine and Population Health. ‘Men, just as before the pandemic, are twice as likely to die because of alcohol compared to women, with almost three times as many additional alcohol-specific deaths in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived.’
‘The sharp increase in alcohol deaths during the pandemic was no flash in the pan. The higher rate has persisted and is getting worse each year,’ added lead author Dr Melissa Oldham from the UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care. ‘It is an acute crisis, and urgent action is needed to prevent further avoidable deaths. This includes substantial investment in health services to better detect and treat liver disease as well as policies to reduce alcohol consumption in the population as a whole, such as minimum unit pricing and advertising restrictions.’
Trends in alcohol-specific deaths in England, 2001–22: an observational study available here