Long Term Monitoring of Health Inequalities: Headline Indicators – October 2014

Alcohol - deaths aged 45-74 years

Alcohol-related deaths among those aged 45-74 years, which peaked at around 1,900 in 2006, have continued to fall. At 1,441 deaths, or 74.3 deaths per 100,000 population, figures for 2012 are the lowest in the reporting period. However, the rate in the most deprived areas is around 8 times higher than in areas of low deprivation (187.6 per 100,000 compared to 24.0 per 100,000).

The longer term pattern in alcohol-related deaths has been driven by variations in the most deprived areas. This pattern resulted in a widening of inequalities in both relative and absolute terms until 2006, when absolute inequality levels began to fall (the difference between rates in the most and least deprived areas in 2012 was the smallest observed in the reporting period). Over the same period, relative inequality levels have fluctuated, and, despite consecutive drops between 2008 and 2011, relative inequality is now the highest observed since 2008, as rates dropped to their lowest level in the least deprived areas in 2012.

Inequalities gradient in 2012

Relative Index of Inequality (RII) over time

Absolute range over time

Scale / context