1,245 people died from conditions caused by alcohol in Scotland
in 2021, according to latest figures published by National
Records of Scotland.
The number of deaths is 5% (55) higher than 2020 and is the
highest number of deaths since 2008. More detailed analysis shows
the rate of mortality from alcohol-specific causes was 22.3
deaths per 100,000 people in 2021. Whilst this is higher than the
21.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2020, it is not a statistically
significant increase, and remains below the peak rate of deaths
from alcohol in 2006.
Of those who died from alcohol-specific causes, two thirds were
male. The average age of deaths of those who died from these
causes was 58.7 years for females and 59.7 years for males.
Julie Ramsay, Vital Events Statistician at NRS, said:
“Health inequalities are a feature of alcohol-specific deaths.
Deaths attributed to alcohol were 5.6 times as likely in the most
deprived areas of Scotland compared to the least deprived areas.
This is more than the deprivation gap for all causes of death,
which is 1.9. Two thirds of those who died last year were male.”
In the past five years, after adjusting for age, the rate of
mortality from alcohol-specific deaths was higher than the
Scottish average in Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Lanarkshire
Health Board areas. Rates were also high in Western Isles Health
Board, but the difference with Scotland as a whole was not
statistically significant.
Background
National Records of Scotland (NRS) is a non-ministerial
department of the devolved Scottish Administration. It is
responsible for producing statistics on Scotland’s population.
Full details: Alcohol-specific Deaths
2021
