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Alcohol-related hospital admissions are used as a way of understanding the impact of alcohol on the health of a population. The alcohol profile uses 2 methods to measure this:

  • the broad definition gives an indication of the full impact of alcohol on hospital admissions and the burden placed on the NHS
  • narrow definition 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

Broad definition

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.

This represents a Broad measure of alcohol-related admissions but is sensitive to changes in coding practice over time.

 

Narrow definition

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

 

Recent figures on admissions due to alcohol

Alcohol profiles: May 2024 update

Main findings of the indicator update Alcohol Profile Statistical Commentary

 

Alcohol-related admissions by cause

Latest admissions included in Admissions by cause.

 

Statistics on Alcohol (replaced by Statistics on Public Health), England

The statistics on public health offer a range of information on alcohol use and misuse by adults and children, including hospital admissions, drawn together from a variety of sources for England unless otherwise stated.