Data and R code for publication: "Alcohol-Specific Inpatient Diagnoses in Germany: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Analysis of Primary and Secondary Diagnoses from 2012 to 2021"

Abstract of the paper:AimsOur study aimed to a) describe the distribution of hospital discharges with primary and secondary alcohol-specific diagnoses by sex and age group, and b) describe how the number of hospital discharges with primary and secondary alcohol-specific diagnoses have changed across different diagnostic groups (categorized by primary ICD-10 diagnosis) over time.DesignRetrospective cross-sectional analysis.SettingGerman hospital settings between 2012 and 2021.ParticipantsAll persons aged 15-69 admitted to hospitals as registered in a nationwide data set.MeasurementsWe counted a) the number of all hospital discharges and b) the number of hospital discharges with at least one alcohol-specific secondary diagnosis (secondary alcohol-specific diagnosis) by year, sex, age group, and diagnostic group. One diagnostic group included all primary alcohol-specific diagnoses, while 13 additional groups aligned with ICD-10 chapters (e.g., neoplasms). Alcohol-involvement was defined as either a primary or secondary alcohol-specific diagnosis.FindingsOf 95,417,204 recorded hospital discharges between 2012-2021, 3,828,917 discharges (4.0%; 2,913,903 men (6.4%); 915,014 women (1.8%)) involved either a primary or at least one secondary diagnosis related to alcohol. Of all alcohol-involved hospital discharges, 56.8% had no primary but only a secondary alcohol-specific diagnosis. Secondary alcohol-specific diagnoses were particularly prevalent in hospital discharges due to injuries. With rising age, alcohol-involvement in hospital discharges due to digestive or cardiovascular diseases increased. Between 2012 and 2021, the rate of alcohol-involved hospital discharges has decreased more in younger as compared to older adults (average change between 2012 and 2021: 15-24: -55%; 25-34: -41%; 35-44: -23%; 45-54: -31%; 55-64: -21%; 65-69: -8%).ConclusionsThe number of alcohol-involved hospital discharges more than double when including secondary alcohol-specific diagnoses. More pronounced declines among younger adults may be attributed to unequal changes in alcohol consumption patterns across the population and to the hazardous effects of long-term alcohol use.