The first annual report from the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, highlights the need for comprehensive action to stop the rising tide of liver disease.
The report, which is the first of two volumes, provides an overall illustration of England’s health by bringing together a number of data sources into one place. The report found that, between 2000 and 2009, deaths from chronic liver disease and cirrhosis in the under 65s increased by around 20% in the UK, while they fell by the same amount in most EU countries. All three major causes of liver disease – obesity, undiagnosed infection, and, increasingly, harmful drinking – are preventable. The report is designed to be a used by local authorities and Public Health England as they take on their new roles to improve the health of local populations. Key facts the data reveals about the country’s health include:
• Those who live the longest spend the shortest amount of time with a limiting long-term illness such as heart disease, diabetes or osteoporosis.
• 727,000 years of life were lost to cancer in the under 75s in 2010 and 20% of these were due to lung cancer – the single largest cause.
• Around a third of adults have three or more risk factors such as raised cholesterol, diabetes or are overweight, which increase their chance of poor health. This increases to around two-fifths of adults in the most deprived areas.
The report goes on to look at key areas of health including heart disease, obesity and cancer, and makes a number of recommendations around access to care and how data on can be better used. Recommendations include:
• Giving better access to diabetes care – only 50% of people registered as diabetic receive the annual recommended checks they should.
• Public Health England should ensure our capacity to capture data on long-term conditions such as loss of hearing, back pain, incontinency and dementia is as strong as current surveillance on the causes of early death.
• The new health systems must work closely together to increase survival and reduce mortality from cancers such as lung and pancreatic cancer.
• Nearly 70% of us have two or more habits or medical risk factors like smoking, harmful alcohol use or not eating enough fruit and vegetables, that are linked with life limiting diseases. Health professionals must focus on tackling these together, rather than individually.
