Long-term Monitoring of Health Inequalities: Headline Indicators - October 2013

Alcohol - deaths aged 45-74 years

Summary

• The level of relative inequality has fallen to its lowest level in the reporting period (1998 to 2011). The level of absolute inequality is slightly higher than in 1998, but is lower than in all other years over the reporting period.

Between 1998 and 2006, there was a 24% increase in the rate of alcohol-related deaths among those aged 45-74 years. Since the peak in 2006, the rate of alcohol-related deaths has continued to fall, and, in 2011, is now at its lowest level in the reporting period (1998 to 2011). The overall death rate in this age group was 80.4 per 100,000 population, with the rate in the most deprived areas around 8 times higher than in areas of low deprivation (209 per 100,000 compared to 25 per 100,000). The longer term pattern in alcohol related deaths has been driven by variations in the most deprived areas, while the death rate in the least deprived areas has remained stable. This resulted in a widening of inequalities in both relative and absolute terms between 1998 and 2006. However, inequalities have now reduced, in line with the overall pattern in deaths.

Inequalities gradient in the most recent year available

Relative Index of Inequality (RII) over time

Absolute range over time

Scale / context