Leeds hospitals see a drop in admissions for alcoholic liver disease

Health charity the British Liver Trust says an "alarming" number of people across the UK are drinking too much alcohol, driven by a shift from pub to home drinking as prices become increasingly affordable.

Public Health England data shows that in Leeds, 480 people were admitted to hospital with liver disease caused by excessive alcohol intake in 2018-19.

At roughly 71 admissions per 100,000 population that's a decrease from 75 in the previous year, but the rate is higher than it was when comparable records began in 2010-11.

Alcohol is the most common cause of liver disease in England, and the number of people with the condition has risen over the last few decades, according to the NHS.

People with the disease are often unaware of it until their liver has been severely damaged, when more serious symptoms such as yellowing skin, abdominal swelling and severe weight loss can develop.

Leeds’s admission rate is higher than across the whole of Yorkshire and the Humber, where there were 52 admissions per 100,000 population on average.

The PHE figures highlight the country's north-south health divide, with the North East producing the highest admission rate (69), while the South East has the lowest (30).