Oldham alcohol deaths

Local alcohol-related deaths highest in Greater Manchester

Oldham women are more likely to die from chronic liver disease than any other region in Greater Manchester, according to new figures published by Office for National Statistics.

Oldham women recorded the third highest figure for the entire north west with 16.4 deaths per 100,000. Across the whole of England, only women in Blackpool, Blackburn and Darwen, and Wolverhampton were more likely to die from chronic liver disease.

It is not much better for men, with 26.7 dying from the disease per 100,000. Compared to 15.9 nationally and 22.2 in the north west, Oldham experienced the third highest death rate in men in Greater Manchester after Manchester’s 28.3 and Rochdale’s 27.0.

Nationally, 624 years of peoples’ lives were lost due to alcohol. In the north west, this rose to 800 years with 734 years lost in Oldham. Women lost 470 years in Oldham, one of the highest in Greater Manchester behind Wigan and Tameside. Whilst above the national female average of 350, the statistics for Oldham fall just under the north west average of 477.

In 2016, 15.9 alcohol-specific deaths per 100,000 were recorded in Oldham, above the average rate across the North West of 14.9 per 100,000, itself higher than the 10.4 national average in England.

Trafford had the lowest number of deaths in Greater Manchester with 12.3 per 100,000, and Tameside the highest with 20.1.

19.9 men died in Oldham specifically due to alcohol, one of the lowest figures for Greater Manchester, whilst women experienced one of the higher rates with 12.5 deaths per 100,000. The highest figures recorded in Greater Manchester were 26.5 men per 100,000 in Manchester and 14.2 women in Tameside.

However, this reversed for alcohol-related deaths.

The amount of alcohol-related deaths in women was one of the lowest figures with 38.1, but still above the respective North West and national averages of 34.8 and 28.8. The number of deaths in men related to alcohol was one of the highest, matching the north west average of 78.0.

Less women under 40 were amongst those admitted to hospital for alcohol-related conditions in Oldham as the second lowest rate in the north west. Just 227 women in every 100,000 were admitted. Trafford recorded the lowest in the north west with 208 admissions.

Admissions for women aged between 40 and 64 was also lower than average with 573 admitted. The national average was 698, increasing to 709 in the north west. Bury experienced the lowest rate in both the north west and Greater Manchester with 491 admissions for this age group.

The number of girls under the age 18 admitted to hospital in Oldham was the third lowest in the north west with Rochdale experiencing the lowest rate of admissions. 39 girls per 100,000 were admitted in Oldham, far below the national average of 45.8.

However, in boys under 18, a stark contrast could be seen. 59.8 boys in Oldham were admitted to hospital for alcohol-related conditions – the third highest figure in the north west and the second highest in the Greater Manchester region.

Men over the age of 65 experienced the third highest figures in Greater Manchester with 1,647 admissions per 100,000. Rochdale experienced the lowest with 1,318.

The statistics also show that men and women living in the most deprived areas in Oldham have significantly higher alcohol-specific death rates compared with those living in the least deprived areas, a trend which was also observed nationally.

8.1 litres of pure alcohol are sold on average to adults in Oldham, the third highest in the north west.

The news is not all bad, as Oldham also experienced one of the highest rates of abstinence in the north west with nearly a third of adults (29.5%) choosing not to drink.