| Demographic Group: | All resident persons. |
| Numerator: | Deaths with International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 codes K70 or K73–K74 (ICD-9 code 571) as the underlying cause of death among residents during a calendar year. |
| Denominator: | Midyear resident population for the same calendar year. |
| Measures of Frequency: | Annual number of deaths. Annual mortality rate — crude and age-adjusted (standardized by the direct method to the year 2000 standard U.S. population, distribution 1*) — with 95% confidence interval. |
| Time Period of Case Definition: | Calendar year. |
| Background: | In 2000, a total of 26,000 persons died from chronic liver disease. The age-adjusted rate of death among males (13.4/100,000) was greater than the rate among females (6.1/100,000). |
| Significance: | Approximately 85,000 deaths each year in the United States are attributed to alcohol abuse. Sustained alcohol consumption is the leading cause of liver cirrhosis, one of the 12 leading causes of death. The risk of chronic liver disease and cirrhosis is directly related to heavy and long-term consumption of alcohol. |
| Limitations of Indicator: | Because alcohol-related disease can have a long latency, changes in behavior or clinical practice affecting population mortality might not be apparent for years. |
| Data Resources: | Death certificate data from vital statistics agencies (numerator) and population estimates from the U.S. Bureau of the Census or suitable alternative (denominator).
http://wonder.cdc.gov |
| Limitations of Data Resources: | Causes of death and other variables listed on the death certificate might be inaccurate. |
| Healthy People 2010 Objectives: | 26-2: Reduce deaths caused by cirrhosis. |
