One in three men and one in six women – a quarter of all adults in England - are estimated to be hazardous drinkers, says a new report from The NHS Information Centre.

In 2007, the drinking habits of 33 per cent of men and 16 per cent of women were classed as hazardous, which means their established drinking patterns put them at risk of physical and psychological harm.

Six per cent of men and two per cent of women were estimated to be harmful drinkers, the most serious form of hazardous drinking, which means they are likely to suffer physical or mental harm, such as liver disease or depression.

The report Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2009, brings different information on alcohol together from a variety of sources.

It also includes figures on drinking dependence that allow a comparison between 2000 and 2007 to be made. The report estimates that in 2007 nine per cent of men and four per cent of women showed some sign of alcohol dependence. The figure for men is slightly lower than in 2000 when 11.5 per cent of men showed signs of drinking dependence. The figure for women is not significantly different from 2000.

The report also shows:

• the annual number of alcohol related admissions to hospital in England rose by nearly 70 per cent in five years to reach just over 863,000 in 2007/08. These figures use a new methodology reflecting a substantial change in the way the impact of alcohol on hospital admissions is calculated. Previously the calculation counted only admissions for reasons specifically related to alcohol. The new calculation, for which the methodology is described in the report, includes a proportion of the admissions for reasons that are not always related to alcohol, but can be in some instances (such as accidental injury).
• in England in 2007 there were 134,429 prescription items for drugs for the treatment of alcohol dependency prescribed in primary care or NHS hospitals and dispensed in the community. This is an increase of 31 per cent since 2003, when there were 102,741 prescription items.

The report also includes survey information about attitudes to alcohol. It estimates that in 2007, 17 per cent of school pupils aged 11 to 15 thought it was okay to get drunk at least once a week. However the proportion of pupils who have never had a proper alcoholic drink was 46 per cent in 2007 compared to 39 per cent in 2003.

NHS Information Centre Chief Executive Tim Straughan said: “An estimated quarter of adults are at risk of damaging their mental or physical health because of their drinking habits. “The report shows a significant amount of people are at risk of actual harm to themselves, which in turn results in more work for the NHS.”

The report is available at: www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/alcohol09

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. The NHS Information Centre is England's authoritative, independent source of health and social care information. It works with more than 300 health and social care providers nationwide to provide the facts and figures that help the NHS and social services run effectively. Its role is to collect data, analyse it and convert it into useful information which helps providers improve their services and supports academics, researchers, regulators and policymakers in their work. The NHS Information Centre also produces a wide range of statistical publications each year across a number of areas including: primary care, health and lifestyles, screening, hospital care, population and geography, social care and workforce and pay statistics.
2. For media enquires relating to admissions to hospital due to alcohol, please contact the Department of Health press office on 0207 2105221. It is expected this information will be handled by The NHS Information Centre press office from autumn 2009
3. Regarding data on harmful and hazardous drinking, “adults” are classed as people aged 16 and over living in private households in England. When discussing drinking dependence “adults” are classed as people aged 16 to 74 living in private households in England to allow comparability between the 2000 and 2007 surveys
4. Information about hazardous and harmful drinking and dependency comes from The 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) published by The NHS Information Centre. Hazardous drinking is defined as a pattern of drinking which brings about the risk of physical or psychological harm. Harmful alcohol users are those with the most hazardous use of alcohol, where damage to health is likely. Hazardous and harmful drinking was assessed in the survey using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). This test, developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), consists of ten questions with five predefined answers, each scoring zero to four points. In the APMS an AUDIT score of eight or more indicated hazardous drinking and score of 16 or more indicated harmful drinking. The prevalence of dependant drinking was measured in the APMS by the community version of the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ-C) and the resulting scores defined in terms of none, mild, moderate and severe dependence.
5. Figures for hazardous drinking and harmful drinking are given separately as estimates of the population as a whole. However harmful drinkers are counted within the estimate of hazardous drinkers (as harmful drinking is still classed as hazardous drinking, albeit in its most serious form). Therefore the separate estimates for harmful drinking and hazardous drinking must not be added together as a proportion of the population will be double counted
6. For media enquiries please call 0845 257 6990 or contact Kristina Fox on 0113 2547120 or kristina.fox@ic.nhs.uk; Fraser Woodward on 07983 629448 or fraser.woodward@ic.nhs.uk; Sarah Dahlgren on 0113 254 7272 or sarah.dahlgren@ic.nhs.uk