Are men and women in Australia hospitalised for different alcohol-caused diseases?
Australian men and women are usually hospitalised for similar alcohol-caused diseases. In 2020-21, mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol accounted for the largest proportion of hospital separations for both men (80%) and women (86%).
Among Australian men in 2020-21, mental and behavioural disorders due to alcohol use accounted for 80% of alcohol-caused hospital separations; alcoholic liver disease accounted for 9%; alcohol-induced acute pancreatitis accounted for 7%; alcoholic gastritis accounted for 3%; and other causes accounted for 2%.
Among Australian women in 2020-21, mental and behavioural disorders due to alcohol use accounted for 86% of alcohol-caused hospital separations; alcoholic liver disease accounted for 7%; alcohol-induced acute pancreatitis accounted for 4%; alcoholic gastritis accounted for 3%; and other causes accounted for 1%.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). National Hospital Morbidity Database 2020-21(NCETA secondary analysis, 2022).
Please note: Percentages may not tally to 100% due to rounding.
This is likely to be an under-estimation of the true number of alcohol-related hospital separations, as data for several alcohol-caused diseases (alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing's syndrome; degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol; alcoholic polyneuropathy; alcoholic myopathy; maternal care for (suspected) damage to fetus from alcohol; fetus and newborn affected by maternal use of alcohol; fetal alcohol syndrome (dysmorphic); finding of alcohol in blood) are not publicly available for confidentiality reasons.
Alcohol-Caused Disease: A disease, disorder or condition which was directly caused by the individual’s own alcohol consumption.
Diseases classified as directly caused by alcohol use include: mental and behavioural disorders due to alcohol use; alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing’s syndrome; degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol; alcoholic polyneuropathy; alcoholic myopathy; alcoholic cardiomyopathy; alcoholic gastritis; alcoholic liver disease; alcohol-induced acute pancreatitis; alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis; maternal care for (suspected) damage to fetus from alcohol; fetus and newborn affected by maternal use of alcohol; fetal alcohol syndrome (dysmorphic); finding of alcohol in blood; and toxic effect of alcohol.
For confidentiality reasons, the 2020-21 National Hospital Morbidity Database excludes data for alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing's syndrome; degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol; alcoholic polyneuropathy; alcoholic myopathy; maternal care for (suspected) damage to fetus from alcohol; fetus and newborn affected by maternal use of alcohol; fetal alcohol syndrome (dysmorphic); finding of alcohol in blood.
Hospital separation: An episode of care for an admitted patient, which can be:
- a total hospital stay (from admission to discharge, transfer or death); or
- a portion of a hospital stay beginning or ending in a change of type of care (for example, from acute to rehabilitation).
Separation also means the process by which an admitted patient completes an episode of care either by being discharged, transferring to another hospital, changing type of care, or dying.