22 February 2007

Alcohol-related death rate highest in Scotland


Health Statistics Quarterly Spring 2007

In Scotland, the alcohol-related death rates for males and females
were around double the rates for the UK as a whole in 2002-
2004, according to new analysis published today by the Office for
National Statistics in Health Statistics Quarterly 33 (Spring 2007).

Across the UK as a whole, the alcohol-related death rate for
males was double the rate for females, and the gap between the
sexes has widened since 1991.

These are among the conclusions of a study of the geographical
variation in alcohol-related death rates in the UK between 1991
and 2004.

In 2004 there were 8,221 alcohol-related deaths in the UK, almost
double the total of 4,144 in 1991.

Among both men and women, the alcohol-related death rate rose
most rapidly among those aged 35 – 54 between 1991 and 2004,
though the death rate for both sexes was highest in the 55 – 74
age group.

At a local level, Glasgow City had the highest alcohol-related
death rate among both men and women in 1998-2004. Fifteen of
the 20 UK local areas with the highest male alcohol-related death
rates were in Scotland, with three in England and two in Northern
Ireland. Merthyr Tydfil, the highest-ranked local area in Wales,
was 50th in the UK.

For women, 14 of the top 20 local areas were in Scotland, with
four in England and two in Northern Ireland. Denbighshire was
the highest-ranking Welsh local area, at 26th in the UK.


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Next publication date
May 2007