![\"Four](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/UDJZ47SYG5GA5PZ7EVLDPU254Y.jpeg\")
<\/a>![\"Student](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AVZYMXRSSJOYLCAAQNF33WB7PI.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nBoth drug and alcohol deaths were described as \u201ca major public health challenge\u201d which has increased significantly over the last decade.<\/p>\n
Drug-related deaths were up 47%, from 115 in 2013 to 169 in 2023.<\/p>\n
Alcohol-specific deaths in the same period rose by 65%, from 206 to 341.<\/p>\n
Both categories disproportionately affected men, those living in urban areas (particularly greater Belfast) and residents in the most deprived areas.<\/p>\n
![\"Scotland’s](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/R6K6ZXONOFJUDEYT3HUYSK23KE.jpg\")
Drug-related deaths have increased by 47% in Northern Ireland, from 115 in 2013 to 169 in 2023. (Paul Faith\/PA) Drug-related deaths <\/p>\n
While already established that drug-related deaths are higher among males and younger age groups in urban areas, the figures also showed several differences between sexes.<\/p>\n
Being divorced or separated (vs married) tripled the risk of mortality for women and nearly doubled the risk for men.<\/p>\n
Living alone or being the sole parent increased the risk for men as well as having no qualifications or employment.<\/p>\n
For women, risk factors included being single or divorced as well as those with a disability, being economically inactive (such as those with caring responsibilities) and those living in socially-rented accommodation.<\/p>\n
The study notes that not all individuals in these groups experience social isolation, but targeted support may be beneficial.<\/p>\n
It was also reported that drug-related mortality was second-highest cause of death for those aged 15-49, behind suicide for men and cancer for females.<\/p>\n
Men accounted for 70% of drug-related deaths in 16-64 year-olds, and 90% of 16-44 year-olds.<\/p>\n
![\"Experts](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/VGNRKISUJ5KJ7J35RFTF4Z7NUA.jpg\")
Alcohol-specific deaths in Northern Ireland are up 65%, from 206 in 2013 to 341 in 2023. (Yui Mok\/PA) Alcohol-specific deaths<\/p>\n
The findings for alcohol-specific deaths reinforced patterns that deaths were more common among men, especially those aged 35-54 and urban residents.<\/p>\n
New insights showed that unemployment and economic inactivity were strongly associated.<\/p>\n
Divorced or separated individuals faced higher risks as well as those living in social-rented housing or for men who lived alone. <\/p>\n
Having a disability was associated with higher mortality risk for both sexes.<\/p>\n
It was also noted that a direct link was sometimes difficult to establish, as harmful alcohol use may both contribute to and result from relationship breakdowns.<\/p>\n
Being divorced or separated represented a 75% increase in risk for men while it doubled the risk for women.<\/p>\n
Single women were also at an 86% increased risk than married women.<\/p>\n
Living in social rented (vs owner occupied) accommodation increased risks for men (80%) and women (51%).<\/p>\n
Males who were a child in a lone parent house were associated with a 70% higher risk, while males sharing accommodation with unrelated individuals were at a 52% increased risk.<\/p>\n
Having a disability increased risk for men by 63% and doubled the risk for women.<\/p>\n
Reporting poor mental health alone (without other conditions) increased the risk by 40% for women.<\/p>\n
Concluding, the NISRA research said the findings showed the importance of addressing economic inactivity, social isolation and socio-economic inequalities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Women who are divorced or separated triple the risk of death from drug abuse, new government statistics show.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":465077,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[785,535,13975,1144,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-465076","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-alcohol","9":"tag-drugs","10":"tag-health-and-wellbeing","11":"tag-northern-ireland","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115297510024504291","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/465077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}