By CHAT News Today

Report: More Canadians hospitalized due to alcohol compared to heart attacks in last two years

Jun 22, 2017 | 2:34 PM

OTTAWA — A new survey from the Canadian Institute for Health Information says more Canadians were sent to hospitals for alcohol than they were for heart attacks.

According to the report released Thursday, between 2015 and 2016, there were approximately 77,000 hospitalizations due to conditions caused entirely by alcohol, compared to 75,000 from heart attacks. Conditions caused by alcohol include alcohol poisoning, alcohol withdrawal or liver disease caused by alcohol, and an estimated 212 Canadians were hospitalized daily for conditions caused by alcohol.

The full report can be viewed here.

Western Canada had more hospitalizations than Eastern Canada, with the exception of Nova Scotia, according to the study. And drinking rates differ by income, with those living in the lowest-income neighbourhoods having higher rates of hospitalizations than those living in the highest-income neighbourhoods.

The study also shows males tend to have higher rates of heavy drinking and hospitalization, although among youth aged 10-19, girls have higher rates of hospitalizations entirely caused by alcohol compared to boys in the same age range.

Medicine Hat company drawing in clients with witty signage

Apr 16, 2024

Medicine Hat College holding event for missing and murdered Indigenous women awareness day

Apr 16, 2024

'An awesome, good feeling': National Volunteer Week underway in Medicine Hat

Apr 15, 2024

The study says, from 1990 to 2010, alcohol increased from the sixth leading cause of death and disability globally to the third.