23 August 2007 Bar staff and…

23 August 2007
                                      Bar staff and publicans have
  Coverage
  United Kingdom
                                      the highest proportions of
  Theme
  Health and Care                     alcohol-related deaths
                                      Health Statistics Quarterly Autumn 2007

                                      Bar staff, publicans and seafarers were the occupations with the
                                      highest proportions of alcohol-related deaths among men,
                                      according to new statistics published today, in Health Statistics
                                      Quarterly 35*, by the Office for National Statistics. The research
                                      also revealed that, in England and Wales in 2001-05, bar staff
                                      and publicans were also the occupations with the highest
                                      proportions of alcohol-related deaths for women.

                                      Other key findings include:

                                         ·   Other occupations within the drinks, catering,
                                             entertainment and hospitality industries had high
                                             proportions of alcohol-related deaths.

                                         ·   Men who worked as farmers and drivers, and women who
                                             worked with children, were found to have low proportions
                                             of alcohol-related deaths.

                                         ·   Male medical practitioners, who historically have had high
                                             levels of alcohol-related deaths, were found to have a low
                                             proportion of these deaths in 2001-05.



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Telephone
Press Office          020 7533 5702   * Health Statistics Quarterly 35, autumn 2007
Public Enquiries      0845 6013034
                                      Palgrave Macmillan £30 ISBN 978-0-230-52598-6
Internet
www.statistics.gov.uk/releases

Next publication date
                                      Available free on the National Statistics website:
November 2007                         www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=6725
News release: Health Statistics Quarterly 35, autumn 2007                  page 2




                                                                                       (ons)

                                     In this issue of Health Statistics Quarterly there is a new report on
                                     death registrations in England and Wales in 2006 by area of
                                     residence.

                                     There are feature articles on: alcohol-related deaths by
                                     occupation in England and Wales, 2001-05; new data on
                                     gestation-specific infant mortality among babies born in 2005 in
                                     England and Wales and a review of the methods for estimating
                                     life expectancy by social class using the ONS Longitudinal Study.
                                     There are also annual updates containing commentary on
                                     previously published Mortality statistics 2005 (injury and
                                     poisoning) and Cancer incidence and mortality in the UK and
                                     constituent countries, 2002-04.



                                     Introducing new data on gestation-specific infant mortality
                                     among babies born in 2005 in England and Wales

                                     This article provides for the first time data on infant mortality in
                                     relation to gestational age (length of pregnancy) for babies born in
                                     England and Wales in 2005.

                                     Key findings include:

                                         ·   Eight per cent of live births were born preterm (less than
                                             37 weeks gestation), eighty-eight per cent were at term (37
                                             to 41 weeks gestation) and the remaining 4 per cent were
                                             born post term (42 weeks gestation and above). Infant
                                             mortality (deaths under one year of age) was very high
                                             among preterm births at 42.1 deaths per 1,000 live births
                                             as compared to among term and post term births where it
                                             was 1.8 and 2.0 deaths per 1,000 live births respectively.

                                         ·   Infant mortality was highest at the very low gestational
                                             ages (947 deaths per 1,000 live births among babies born
                                             at 22 weeks). It then fell steadily with increasing
                                             gestational age and was lowest among babies born at 40
News release: Health Statistics Quarterly 35, autumn 2007                         page 3




                                                                                                 (ons)
                                             weeks gestation at 1.3 per 1,000 live births.




                                         ·   Irrespective of gestational age, mortality also varied by
                                             birth weight. Among babies born at 37 weeks and above,
                                             the neonatal mortality rate (that is, deaths under 28 days of
                                             life) for babies weighing 1,500-2,499g at birth was 5.3
                                             deaths per 1,000 live births as compared to 0.8 deaths per
                                             1,000 live births for babies weighing 2,500g and over.

                                         ·   For babies born at 37 weeks and above, the postneonatal
                                             mortality rate (babies dying between 28 days and under
                                             one year of life) among babies with fathers in routine and
                                             manual occupations was almost twice that of babies with
                                             fathers in the managerial and professional occupations.


                                     BACKGROUND NOTES


                                         1. The new statistics on gestation-specific infant mortality rates were
                                             derived by linking birth and death registration data with the NHS
                                             Numbers for Babies dataset. The article looks at gestation- specific
                                             infant mortality rates by birthweight, multiple births, age of mother,
                                             marital status/registration type, and the National Statistics Socio-
                                             Economic Classification.

                                         2. Details of the policy governing the release of new data are available
                                            from the press office.

                                         3. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set
                                             out in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular
                                             quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs.
                                             They are produced free from any political interference. © Crown
                                             copyright 2007.