What’s new

The alcohol profile on the Fingertips platform has been updated. New data is available for:

• alcohol-specific admissions
• alcohol-related admissions
• alcohol-related mortality
• potential years of life lost

The main findings are summarised below.

Introduction

The alcohol profile brings together indicators related to alcohol that were selected following consultation with stakeholders and a review of the availability of routine data. The profile is part of a series of products by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) that provide local data alongside national comparisons to support local health improvement.

Admission and mortality rates produced for the alcohol profile are directly age-standardised rates, which adjust for differences in the age structure of the population between areas and population groups.

Main findings

Alcohol admissions

In the financial year 2023 to 2024, there were 339,916 alcohol-specific hospital admissions, 280,747 alcohol-related hospital admissions under the narrow definition, and 1,018,986 alcohol-related hospital admissions under the broad definition in England. Indicator definitions are given at the end of this commentary.

The age-standardised rates for all 3 indicators have increased since the previous financial year (2022 to 2023) with the increases being statistically significant. The long-term trends were less clear but the rate for alcohol-related (broad) admissions in 2023 to 2024 was the highest since the start of the data series in 2016 to 2017 (1,625 per 100,000).

Figure 1: age-standardised alcohol-specific, alcohol-related (narrow) and alcohol-related (broad) admission rates per 100,000 population (all ages): single year , England, 2016 to 2017 to 2023 to 2024

Source: calculated by OHID Population Health Analysis (PHA) team using data from NHS England Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and Office for National Statistics (ONS) mid-year population estimates.

There were statistically significant inequalities in alcohol admissions with rates 1.5 to 2.0 times higher in the 10th most deprived lower tier local authorities compared to the 10th least deprived.

Alcohol mortality

In 2023 there were 8,274 alcohol-specific deaths in England, which was an increase of 63.8% from 5,050 deaths in 2006 and a 4.6% increase since 2022. This equates to a rate of 15.0 per 100,000 population in 2023. This was the highest rate for alcohol-specific mortality since the start of the data series in 2006 (10.7 per 100,000).

A similar picture was seen for alcohol-related mortality. In 2023, there were 22,644 alcohol-related deaths in England, which was an increase of 21.3% from 18,666 deaths in 2016 (the start of the alcohol-related trend) and a 3.3% increase since 2022. This equates to a rate of 40.7 per 100,000 population in 2023. This was also the highest rate for alcohol-related mortality since the start of the data series in 2016 (36.3 per 100,000).

The long-term trends for admissions and mortality were not the same. The large increases in the alcohol mortality rates in recent years were not observed for alcohol admissions.

Figure 2: age-standardised alcohol-specific and alcohol-related mortality rates per 100,000 population (all ages): single year, England, 2006 to 2023

Source: calculated by OHID PHA team from ONS death registration data and ONS mid-year population estimates.

Potential years of life lost

Potential years of life lost (PYLL) is a measure of premature mortality. It estimates the length of time a person potentially may have lived had they not died prematurely.

In 2023 in England, there were 334,421 potential years of life lost due to alcohol-related conditions in males, equating to a rate of 1,246 per 100,000 population. In 2023, there were 151,594 potential years of life lost due to alcohol-related conditions in females, equating to a rate of 533 per 100,000. This means the rate of potential years of life lost for males is more than double the number for females and this gap has been consistent since 2016.

As with alcohol-specific and alcohol related mortality rates, the PYLL rate for both males and females has increased since 2019.

Figure 3: age standardised PYLL due to alcohol-related conditions, rate per 100,000 population (all ages) by sex, England, 2016 to 2023

Source: calculated by OHID PHA team from ONS death registration data, ONS single year of age life table data and ONS mid-year population estimates.

In 2023, the male PYLL rate in the most deprived 10th of lower tier local authority areas was 1.9 times higher than the rate in the least deprived 10th (1,613 and 850 per 100,000 population respectively). The female PYLL rate in the most deprived 10th of lower tier local authority areas was 1.7 times higher than the rate in the least deprived 10th (669 and 382 per 100,000 population respectively).

Potential working years of life lost

PWYLL estimates the length of time a person could have worked had they not died prematurely. Alcohol-related deaths often occur at relatively young ages so one of the ways to consider the full impact of alcohol on both the individual and wider society is to look at how many working years are lost each year due to premature death as a result of alcohol.

In 2023 in England, there were 108,018 working years of life lost due to alcohol-related conditions in males, equating to a rate of 492 per 100,000 population. In 2023, there were 44,985 working years of life lost due to alcohol-related conditions in females, equating to a rate of 199 per 100,000. This means the rate of working years of life lost for males is more than double the number for females and this gap has been consistent since 2016.

Figure 4: age standardised PWYLL due to alcohol-related conditions, rate per 100,000 population (adults aged 16 to 64) by sex, England, 2016 to 2023

Source: calculated by OHID PHA team from ONS death registration data and ONS mid-year population estimates.

In 2023, the PWYLL rate in the most deprived 10th of lower tier local authority areas was double the rate in the least deprived 10th for both males and females (630 and 308 per 100,000 for males; 257 and 128 per 100,000 for females).

Indicators updated: February 2025

The following indicators have been updated and are available at local authority level as well as for England, statistical regions and various inequality groups:

• admission episodes for alcohol-related conditions (narrow)
• admission episodes for alcohol-related conditions (broad)
• admission episodes for alcohol-specific conditions
• admission episodes for alcohol-related conditions (narrow) - under 40s
• admission episodes for alcohol-related conditions (narrow) - 40 to 64 years
• admission episodes for alcohol-related conditions (narrow) - 65+ years
• admission episodes for alcohol-specific conditions - under 18s
• admission episodes for alcohol-related unintentional injuries (narrow)
• admission episodes for mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (narrow)
• admission episodes for intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to alcohol (narrow)
• admission episodes for alcohol-related cardiovascular disease (broad)
• admission episodes for mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (broad)
• admission episodes for alcoholic liver disease (broad)
• alcohol-related mortality
• PYLL due to alcohol-related conditions
• PWYLL due to alcohol-related conditions

The following new indicators have been added to the profile and are available for England and statistical regions. This data has been previously published by NHS England with the exception of the regional data for the last indicator below :

• percentage of adults who abstain from drinking alcohol
• low risk drinking (up to 14 units for men and women)
• higher risk drinking (above 50 units a week for men, above 35 units for women)
• possible alcohol dependence according to the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT)
• drank alcohol in the last week, 15-year-olds (Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people survey)

Definitions

Alcohol-specific admissions

Admissions to hospital where the primary diagnosis or any of the secondary diagnoses are an alcohol-specific (wholly attributable) condition.

Alcohol-related admissions (broad)

A measure of hospital admissions where either the primary diagnosis (main reason for admission) or one of the secondary (contributory) diagnoses is an alcohol-related condition (partially or wholly caused by alcohol). This represents a broad measure of alcohol-related admissions but is sensitive to changes in coding practice over time.

Alcohol-related admissions (narrow)

A measure of hospital admissions where the primary diagnosis (main reason for admission) is an alcohol-related condition (partially or wholly caused by alcohol). This represents a narrower measure. Since every hospital admission must have a primary diagnosis it is less sensitive to coding practices but may also understate the part alcohol plays in the admission.

In general:

• the broad measure gives an indication of the full impact of alcohol on hospital admissions and the burden placed on the NHS
• the narrow measure estimates the number of hospital admissions which are primarily due to alcohol consumption and provides the best indication of trends in alcohol-related hospital admissions

Alcohol-specific mortality

Deaths from conditions wholly caused by alcohol.

Alcohol-related mortality

Deaths from conditions that are wholly or partially caused by alcohol. For partially attributable conditions, a fraction of the deaths are included based on the latest academic evidence about the contribution alcohol makes to the condition.

Potential years of life lost (PYLL)

Potential years of life lost is calculated as the number of years between a death and the national life expectancy for each age group. PYLL are presented as age standardised rates, which are adjusted for differences in the age structure of the population between areas and population groups.

Potential working years of life lost (PWYLL)

Working years of life lost are calculated as the number of years between a death in those aged 16 to 64 years and the age of 65 years. PWYLL are presented as age standardised rates, which are adjusted for differences in the age structure of the population between areas and population groups.

Further information

The alcohol profile data tool helps local areas assess alcohol-related harm and monitor the progress of efforts to reduce this.

View the alcohol profile tool.

Responsible statistician, product lead: Mark Cook.

For queries relating to this publication, contact: profilefeedback@dhsc.gov.uk.