Alcohol-related deaths in England and Wales rose to highest EVER level in 2020 amid lockdowns

Alcohol-related deaths in England and Wales surged to their highest level in almost two decades last year amid the coronavirus pandemic, official figures show. 

An Office for National Statistics report published today found there were 7,423 deaths in 2020, which was a fifth more than in 2019 and the highest number since records began in 2001.

People living in the poorest parts of the countries were four times more likely to have died from alcohol-related causes last year compared to those in the wealthiest areas.

Experts told MailOnline that a year of lockdowns exacerbated Britain’s drinking problem. For a large part of 2020 Britons were under stay-at-home orders and cut off from friends and family.  

Dozens of surveys found people got drunk more than usual during the lockdown to cope with the distress of the pandemic, social isolation and boredom.

Today’s report showed there were 464 alcohol poisoning deaths last year, up about 16 per cent from 401 the year before. The rise in alcohol-induced liver disease was more stark, with 1,000 more deaths in 2020 than 2019 – 5,964 compared to 4,954, a rise of a fifth.

Liver disease is caused by excessive alcohol abuse over many years but relapsing or binge drinking can be fatal for patients with the condition. 

Professor Paul Hunter, an epidemiologist at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline it was possible some of the increase was caused by excessive drinking during lockdown speeding up the deaths. ‘If people with liver disease start drinking again, especially binge drinking, that would certainly be very bad for their liver and could lead to Liver failure and subsequent death,’ he added. 

He added the spike in liver disease deaths could be down to patients struggling to access healthcare. Waiting lists have soared to record levels as a result of the NHS focussing on Covid patients. 

The ONS said the number of people dying from alcohol-related deaths got progressively worse throughout 2020. Compared to 2019, there were just 8 per cent more fatalities by March last year compared to 30 per cent more between October – 31 December 

It takes about 10 years for a patient to develop cirrhosis, or liver disease, and the condition affects between 10 to 20 per cent of long-term heavy drinkers. The damage caused by cirrhosis is permanent, and it’s one of the primary ways alcoholism kills.

A person who has alcohol-related cirrhosis and does not stop drinking has a less than 50 per cent chance of living for at least five more years – which makes the increase in deaths last year unlikely to have all been at the hands of Covid.

But people who had early-stage cirrhosis and started excessive drinking again during lockdown may have accelerate their condition, experts say. The exact cause for the spike will not be fully understood until more analysis has been done.