K4.4 Diseases directly attributable to alcohol (15 years and older)

Rate of hospitalizations for diseases directly attributable to alcohol in persons over 15 years of age

Excessive alcohol consumption is one of the main preventable risk factors for chronic diseases, injuries and violence, as it can cause addiction and more than 60 different diseases, conditions and injuries. Comparable data place Slovenia at the top of the EU member states in terms of the consequences of harmful drinking, all Slovenian regions rank above the average of the EU member states. Acute or long-term consequences of excessive alcohol consumption are a common cause of avoidable hospital admissions and deaths.

In order to reduce the health, social and economic damage caused by the risky and harmful use of alcohol, a comprehensive approach is needed, which includes various actors and departments at all levels. This indicator can help to monitor the likely burden of health care and, with appropriate measures, with the cooperation of several institutions or experts, prevent and even reduce the negative consequences of drinking and alcohol poisoning.

The rate of hospitalizations for diseases directly attributable to alcohol describes the number of hospitalizations for conditions directly related to alcohol in persons over 15 years of age per 1,000 inhabitants in the observed calendar year.

Rate per 1,000 inhabitants.

The standardized rate of hospitalizations due to diseases directly attributable to alcohol is the ratio between the number of hospitalizations where the primary diagnosis or any of the secondary diagnoses is directly attributable to alcohol, in persons over 15 years of age, and the number of residents over 15 years of age in the middle of the same year, multiplied by 1,000.

ICD-10 disease categories included in the calculation are: F10.0 – F10.9, G31.2, G62.1, G72.1, I42.6, K29.2, K70.0 - K70. 9, K86.0, O35.4, P04.3, Q86.0, R78.0, T51.0, 51.1, T51.9, X45, X65 and Y15.

Diseases directly attributable to alcohol$=\frac{Number of hospital admissions due to il\ln esses directly attributable to alcohol (15+ years)}{Number of inhabi\tan ts (15+ years)}\times 1.000$

The direct standardization method is used for standardization, where the Slovenian population from 2014 is used as the standard population. The 2016 publications show the average of three consecutive years (2011-2013), and the publications from 2017 onwards show the average of five consecutive years.

Record of Diseases, Poisonings, and Injuries Requiring Hospital Treatment, National Institute of Public Health.

Population, Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia.

Data on hospital treatments are published annually.

1. National Institute of Public Health ( http://www.nijz.si/ )
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( http://www.cdc.gov/ )
3. Alcohol in Slovenia: trends in the way of drinking, health consequences of harmful drinking, opinions of actors and proposals for measures for a more effective alcohol policy / edited by Maja zorko ... [et al.] – 2nd edition. – Ljubljana: National Institute of Public Health, 2014 ( http://www.nijz.si/publikacije/alkohol-v-sloveniji )