Northern Ireland

Alcohol abuse claiming almost twice as many women's lives in north

There has been a rise in the number of women dying from alcohol abuse in the north. Picture by Philip Toscano, Press Association
There has been a rise in the number of women dying from alcohol abuse in the north. Picture by Philip Toscano, Press Association There has been a rise in the number of women dying from alcohol abuse in the north. Picture by Philip Toscano, Press Association
By Staff Reporter

ALCOHOL abuse is claiming an increasing number of women's lives in the north.

The Office for National Statistics found that death rates among women suffering from alcoholism have risen sharply over three years.

Deaths have surged from 6.4 per 100,000 women in 2013 to 11.8 in 2016.

Death rates owing wholly to alcohol abuse have jumped by over a third among 60 to 64-year-old women across the UK since 2001.

A steep rise was also reported among men aged between 70 and 74.

Overall, the death rate among men in 2016 was more than double that for women: 16.2 deaths per 100,000, compared with 7.5.

In total, 7,327 people died in the UK last year as a direct result of abusing alcohol.

Dr Tony Rao, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists said: "The latest statistics are a wake-up call to the rising problem of alcohol misuse in a generation of baby boomers that need urgent consideration by our public health and clinical services in the UK".