The number of deaths caused specifically by alcohol increased rapidly since the COVID-19 lockdowns and the trend is continuing, official statistics show.
Data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released on Monday showed that in 2022, there were 10,048 deaths that were a direct consequence of alcohol, a third higher than in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year.
This represents the highest figure on record and is 4.2 percent higher than in 2021, when there were 9,641 deaths recorded, and 32.8 percent higher than when there were 7,565 deaths in 2019.
The statistics agency said rates of alcohol-specific deaths had been stable between 2012 and 2019.
The ONS’s health statistician David Mais said, “Alcohol-specific deaths rose sharply with the onset of the pandemic, and today’s results show a continuation of that trend, with deaths around a third higher than in 2019.”
Lockdown Drinking Patterns a ‘Ticking Time Bomb’
The ONS defined “alcohol-specific deaths” as those where the death is a direct consequence of alcohol, such as liver disease. This means not all deaths which could be attributable to alcohol, such as various types of cancer or heart disease, are included in the figures.
Mr. Mais said that alcoholic liver disease was the leading cause of these deaths. As consistent with previous years, “rates are much higher among men,” with the death rate for men being around double that for women, at 22.3 and 11.1 deaths per 100,000, respectively.
The ONS found that Scotland and Northern Ireland had the highest rates of alcohol-specific deaths in 2022, at 22.6 and 19.5 deaths per 100,000 people, respectively, compared to the UK-wide average of 16.6 deaths per 100,000. The northeast had the highest rate of such deaths in England, at 21.8 per 100,000.
Ms. Douglas said: “Changes to drinking patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic have sadly become embedded and represent a ticking time bomb of alcohol-related illness and deaths for our already overstretched NHS.
Increased Suicide Rate in England
Earlier this month, an ONS data release showed that last year, coroners registered 5,579 suicides in England, representing a population rate for suicide which was “statistically significantly higher” than in 2022, 2021, and 2020.Jen Walters, executive director of social change at Mind, said the rise was “very concerning,” adding: "The causes of suicide are many, complex, and vary from one person to another.
“What we do know is we are still feeling the seismic effects from the pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis is continuing to have a devastating impact on society. We must do much more to reverse this.”
Inquiry Accused of Backtracking on Lockdown Mental Health Probe
In early April, charities and health care groups accused the UK’s official COVID-19 Inquiry of backtracking because it had not committed to examining the effects of lockdowns on health services for adults with existing mental issues.“The Covid-19 Inquiry’s refusal to examine the mental health consequences of the pandemic risks failing the people with pre-existing mental health conditions who died at five times the rate of the general population,” an open letter to the inquiry’s chairwoman, Baroness Hallett, said, urging her to devote more time to examining the wider mental health impact of lockdowns.
The group took issue with the plans for the module that is set to investigate the impact of lockdowns on the UK’s health care systems, but will solely discuss inpatient beds provided for children’s and young people’s mental health services.
The chairwoman responded to the letter, saying the subject can be covered by other modules and through the inquiry’s wider listening exercise, Every Story Matters.
Long Term Effects of Lockdown Not Considered
Responding to a poll in March, 68 percent of scientists from universities across the UK said they believed the government did not sufficiently consider the long-term effects of the lockdowns.Former government COVID-19 adviser and Nottingham Trent University professor Robert Dingwall told The Telegraph, which commissioned the poll, that scientists did not dare to contradict the consensus as they were concerned it would impact their professional lives.
Mr. Dingwall said: “It was always clear to those of us who were able to make evidence-based criticisms of ‘official science’ and government actions, that we enjoyed considerable tacit support in the scientific community.
“This was, however, muted by concerns about loss of patronage, access to research grants and difficulty in publication as the cost of speaking out.”
Gordon Wishart, visiting professor of cancer surgery at Anglia Ruskin University and chief medical officer at Check4Cancer, said his fears were ignored when he said that delaying cancer diagnoses and treatment would lead to deaths.
“I did feel like my concerns were falling on deaf ears as far as the government is concerned,” Mr. Wishart said. He said he had “real concerns that we would not do anything different if we have another pandemic, as the COVID Inquiry did not seem that interested in identifying what went wrong with our approach, and how we would change it next time.”
