Nordic ALCOHOL and DRUG policy network
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Alcohol-related harm in Lithuania
Consequences of alcohol consumption: prevalence and mortality
According to the data of the Institute of Hygiene, based on the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund Information System, in 2021, 23.7 thousand persons were diagnosed with at least one disease directly linked to alcohol consumption, or 846 persons per 100 thousand population (in 2020, 845). The most frequent diagnoses were alcoholic dependence (598.7 cases per 100 thousand population), toxic effect of alcohol (130.5 cases per 100 thousand population), and alcoholic psychosis (79.9 cases per 100 thousand population). Against 2020, prevalence of toxic effect of alcohol decreased by 6.5, alcoholic psychosis – 6.3 per cent, while prevalence of alcoholic polyneuropathy increased by 10.6, alcoholic liver disease – 9.1, degeneration of the nervous system due to alcohol – 5 per cent. The prevalence of diseases directly linked to alcohol consumption is the highest among men aged 30–39, which exceeds that among women 3.4 times. The highest prevalence for rural residents is observed in the 40–44 age group, while for urban residents, the peak of prevalence is reached later – at the age of 45–49. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, data for 2020–2021 should be assessed carefully: due to some restriction of elective health care services and reduction in number of visits, the number of registered diseases decreased (as compared with the period before the pandemy, i.e. 2019).
Source: Statistics Lithuania
Prevalence of diseases directly linked to alcohol consumption by age group and sex, 2021
Persons diagnosed with a disease per 100 thousand population
Data provided by the Institute of Hygiene
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Mortality due to diseases directly linked to alcohol consumption
Deaths per 100 thousand population
Data provided by the Institute of Hygiene
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Male and female mortality due to diseases directly linked to alcohol consumption, liver cirrhosis and fibrosis
Deaths per 100 thousand population
Data provided by the Institute of Hygiene
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Criminal offences committed and road traffic accidents caused by drunk persons, accidents at work
According to the data of the IT and Communications Department under the Ministry of the Interior, in 2021, 33.3 per cent (9.4 thousand) of criminal offences investigated were committed by persons intoxicated by alcohol. Against 2020, the number of such criminal offences decreased by 1.9 thousand (16.9 per cent).
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According to the data of the Police Department, in 2021, each twelfth road traffic accident was caused by a drunk person: 334 (in 2020, 388) road traffic accidents through the fault of drunk persons were registered, with 46 persons killed and 499 injured. In 2021, 23 persons were killed and 219 – injured in road traffic accidents caused by drunk drivers. In 2021, against 2020, the number of road traffic accidents caused by drunk persons decreased by 13.9 per cent, of those caused by drunk drivers – grew by 26.7 per cent.
According to the data of the State Labour Inspectorate, in 2021, 48 persons died in accidents at work, of them 10 were intoxicated persons (in 2020, 34 and 2 respectively).
ALCOHOL AND CANCER in Lithuania
This information is based on WHO Cancer country profiles 2020. The aim of the WHO Cancer Country Profile is to synthesize the current status of cancer control for each WHO Member States (194 total) as well as by WHO Regions (6 total). These profiles establish an updated country baseline and support monitoring trends toward the achievement of global commitments including Sustainable Development Goal target 3.4 to reduce premature mortality, the Elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem and Global initiative for childhood cancer.
Profiles present the burden of cancer: including total number of cases and deaths, leading types of cancer, contribution of select risk factors measured by PAFs (population attributable fraction) and cancer as % of NCD premature deaths.
The contribution of a risk factor to a disease or a death is quantified using the population attributable fraction (PAF). PAF is the proportional reduction in population disease or mortality that would occur if exposure to a risk factor were reduced to an alternative ideal exposure scenario (eg. no tobacco use). The term “attributable” has a causal interpretation: PAF is the estimated fraction of all cases that would not have occurred if there had been no exposure.
