Wales' alcohol deaths highest for 20 years

Alcohol-related deaths in Wales rose by 19% to a 20-year high in 2020.

Men in poorer parts of Wales are three times more likely to die from an alcohol-specific condition than men in the wealthiest areas, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures also show.

The mortality rate linked to alcohol is almost twice as high as for women living in the most deprived areas.

This is in line with similar patterns seen in recent years.

The number of deaths from alcohol-specific causes was 19% higher in 2020 than the year before and 13% higher than the five-year average in Wales.

There were 438 deaths from alcohol-specific causes in 2020 in Wales, according to provisional figures, which is above the five-year average (389) and more than registered in 2019 (368).

The previous highest year was 2008, when 426 deaths were recorded.

Most deaths are through liver disease associated with alcohol.

The mortality rate for alcohol specific deaths is 32.2 per 100,000 for men and 13.3 per 100,000 women in the most deprived areas, compared to 9.5 deaths per 100,000 men and 7.4 per 100,000 women in least deprived areas of Wales.

There have also been rises in some regions of England after the start of the Covid pandemic but ONS "there will be many complex factors" and it may take some time to fully understand them.