More pensioners admitted to hospital with alcohol issues

The number of pensioners being admitted to hospital because of alcohol is on the rise, new figures show.

The rates of people over the age of 65 who are admitted to hospitals in England have been slowly creeping up since around 2008, according to new statistics from Public Health England (PHE).

In 2008/9, 261 people over the age of 65 out of every 100,000 people were admitted to hospital as a result of their drinking.

But by 2014/15 - the latest data available - the figure stood at 275 per 100,000 people.

The figures also show that middle age drinkers have the highest rates of alcohol-related hospital admissions - with 371 people aged 40 to 64 out of every 100,000 people being admitted in 2014/15.

Professor Kevin Fenton, national director for health and wellbeing at PHE, said: "The harm we are seeing among middle-aged and older drinkers is a concern.

"The highest rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions for men and women is among those aged 40-64, with admissions for liver disease still rising and a gradual increase in alcohol-related cancers over the past decade.

"Far too many people drink at harmful levels without realising the damage they may be doing. Public Health England is working with national and local partners, looking at measures that will encourage less harmful drinking behaviour."

The figures also show that since 2008/9, the rate of admissions where the primary or a secondary reason for admission was linked to alcohol has increased by 29%.

And cancer incidence related to alcohol has seen a gradual upward trend over the past decade.

Between 2004 and 2006, the incidence rate of alcohol related cancer stood at 35.3 out of every 100,000 people. Between 2012 and 2014, this figure rose to 38 per 100,000.