Sask. has high rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions

Last year, nearly 7,700 patients were admitted to Saskatchewan hospitals for alcohol-related illnesses — the second highest per capita rate in Canada, falling just behind British Columbia.

Alcohol-related illnesses encompass much more than simply alcohol poisoning, explained Geoff Hynes, manager of the CIHI Canadian Population Health Initiative. A report released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) gave a look into how often alcohol-related hospitalizations happen and what causes them.

“Three quarters of (these conditions) are related to mental health and addictions — specifically, you have things like alcohol intoxication, chronic alcohol abuse and withdrawal, as well as physical conditions, so people who have alcohol-induced liver cirrhosis and alcohol-induced pancreatitis. But overwhelmingly these are mental health and addiction-related conditions.”

About 345 of every 100,000 people hospitalized in Saskatchewan every year is there for alcohol-related reasons. The rate in Northern Saskatchewan is more than five times higher than the national average of 239.

Hynes said men in middle age, people who live in rural areas and people with low incomes are more likely to end up in hospital with an alcohol-related illness.

“Looking at variations across neighbourhood income, in Saskatchewan specifically the rates of hospitalization were 3.6 times higher in the lowest income neighbourhoods compared to the highest income neighbourhoods ... Men were also much more likely to be hospitalized than women, and it tended to be, more often than not, men between the ages of 45 and 60.”

Alcohol sales in Saskatchewan are also higher than in other parts of Canada, which may be related to the province’s extended hours for alcohol sales — the highest in the country at 19 hours per day.

Saskatchewan also ranks at the bottom in the rate of Canadians who talk about their alcohol consumption with a health care provider.

Hynes said there is one factor where Saskatchewan performs well — its pricing policies.

“This is the key. These are a set of policies that have proven to be very effective, arguably the most effective, way of reducing alcohol harm — and they are very effective as well for lower income populations,” he said.

“Saskatchewan has minimum pricing for off-premise (purchases) and on-premise at a bar or restaurant. The other piece that’s really key is that Saskatchewan actually adjusts the cost of alcohol to the percentage of alcohol content ... This is really important because risky drinkers may be more likely to drink higher alcohol content if it’s cheaper.”

Nationally, 210 people are admitted to hospital every day for alcohol related illnesses, equalling about 77,000 per year — 2,000 more people than were hospitalized for heart attacks in the same period.