Four in five alcohol-related deaths among males: AIHW

Four in five alcohol-related deaths and three in five hospitalisations in 2019–20 were among males, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

The report, ‘Alcohol-related injury: hospitalisations and deaths, 2019–20’, shows that of the 1950 alcohol-related injury deaths and 30,000 hospitalisations, over 1500 (78%) and almost 18,000 (59%) were among males.

Suicide (48%) was found to be the leading cause for alcohol-related injury deaths among males, followed by accidental poisoning (23%) and transport (12%). For females, suicide (43%), accidental poisoning (33%) and falls (9%) were the leading causes.

“Overall, these accounted for 5.7% of all injury hospitalisations and 14% of the 13,400 injury deaths among Australians. However, this is likely an underestimate; previous research has shown the presence of alcohol is often not included in a patient’s records.”

“Most injury events are preventable, but the consumption of alcohol can increase the risk of injury. The report includes injury cases where alcohol may have been wholly responsible for the injury (for example, alcohol poisoning) or partially responsible (such as falls or intentional self-harm injury),” said AIHW spokesperson Dr Heather Swanston.

While the leading causes of alcohol-related injury hospitalisations were the same for males and females, there were some notable differences.

Among males, falls accounted for 43% of injuries, followed by intentional self-harm (17%), assault (14%) and transport (9%). For females, falls represented 35% of alcohol-related hospitalisations, followed by intentional self-harm (33%), assault (15%) and transport (4%).

The majority of alcohol-related injury hospitalisations occurred in the 45–49 (1641, 9%) and 20–24 (1629, 9%) age groups for males, and in the 45–49 (1386, 11%) age group for females.

“There were 20% fewer alcohol-related injury hospitalisations during April 2020 — a period affected by COVID-19 lockdowns — compared to the same month the previous year. However, as COVID-19-related restrictions eased, alcohol-related injury hospital admissions had returned to pre-pandemic levels by June 2020,” Swanston said.

The rate of deaths from alcohol-related injuries in Australia more than doubled between 2010–11 and 2019–20, increasing from 4.8 to 9.7 deaths per 100,000 (840 compared to 1950 deaths). However, alcohol-related injury deaths decreased by 10% between 2018–19 and 2019–20, the period affected by COVID-19 lockdowns.

Swanston noted that some groups were more likely to experience higher rates of alcohol-related injury hospitalisations.

Very remote areas of Australia had the highest rates of alcohol-related injury hospitalisations, over 8 times the national rate and almost 11 times the rate for people living in major cities. Those living in the lowest of five socioeconomic areas were more than twice as likely to be hospitalised for an alcohol-related injury than those in the highest socioeconomic area.

The databases used to conduct this research do not include information on cases where a person was treated in an emergency department or by a general or allied health practitioner and was not admitted to the hospital. Alcohol consumption in this analysis relates to the person injured.

If you or someone you know needs urgent help, call triple zero (000). You can also call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (www.lifeline.org.au) or National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline 1800 250 015. Those impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence and abuse can call 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732; www.1800respect.org.au) for support.

Image credit: iStockphoto.com/Anatolii Frolov