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#202607A – Trends in alcohol-related liver disease mortality and prior inpatient care in England

Context

Alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD) is a serious condition that develops after a person drinks excessive amounts of alcohol over a prolonged period of time. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, heavy drinking has risen sharply in England and remained elevated. This is believed to be a major driver of the sharp rise in alcohol-related deaths, predominantly through ARLD. Understanding where people with ARLD died, and whether they had recent contact with hospital care, can help identify missed opportunities for treatment and guide where prevention and policy efforts are most needed.

Interactive tool

The following interactive tool tracks monthly ARLD mortality in England from 2004 to the most recent available data.

Users can filter the dashboard using four dropdowns:

  • ARLD death certificate - whether ARLD was coded as the underlying cause of death, or recorded anywhere on the death certificate
  • Characteristic – view the overall trend, or stratify by:

- Age group
- Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) quintiles
- English region
- Sex
- Death location (in-hospital vs. out-of-hospital). This option allows further stratification by age group, IMD quintile, region, or sex
- Prior inpatient care (in-hospital; discharged within 60 days; discharged within 61 days - 1 year prior, no discharge within 1 year). This option allows further stratification by whether the last admission diagnosis involved ARLD, or another diagnosis

  • Metric - age-standardised mortality rate (ASMR per 1 million population) or absolute number of deaths
  • COVID record – include or exclude deaths where COVID-19 was listed on the death certificate

 

Methodology

The methodology underlying the trends shown in this dashboard, and guidance on their interpretation, is described in the following peer-reviewed publication: [CITATION TO BE ADDED]

Data sources

All statistics are calculated using national mortality records from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), supplied by NHS England (NHSE). Mortality records were linked to Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) Admitted Patient Care records, collected and supplied by NHSE. Population data for mortality rates are based on mid-year estimates collected and supplied by the ONS. Neither the ONS nor NHSE is responsible for the content of this dashboard