Morbidity, Mortality, and incidence of cirrhosis in Denmark 1976-1978

National and international statistics on the occurrence of cirrhosis are generally based on death rates. In Denmark as elsewhere the morbidity and incidence of cirrhosis is largely unknown. National patient register data from 1976 to 1978 and data from a suburban county hospital register during 1971-1977 form the basis for calculations of hospital-related prevalence of cirrhosis (discharge rates and consumption of bed-days). Furthermore, a measure of incidence was established and calculated for the suburban area. Mortality from cirrhosis was about 10 per 100,000 population during 1976-77. Eight-five per cent of the deaths occurred in hospitals. Data from the national patient register of somatic hospital wards underrated mortality from cirrhosis by 40%. Death certificate data classified about 1/3 of th deaths as due to alcoholic cirrhosis, whereas alcoholic cirrhosis constituted 2/3 of the deaths in the material derived from the national patient register. The discharge rate was about 60, and the expenditure of bed-days in somatic hospital departments was about 900 per 100,000 population during 1976-78. Forty per cent of the patients were women. Seventy per cent of the patients had alcoholic cirrhosis-80% of the male and 55% of the female patients. The annual incidence of cirrhosis during 1976-77 was about 27 per 100,000. Forty-three per cent of the patients were women. Two thirds of the newly diagnosed cases of cirrhosis were alcoholic-80% for men and 50% for women. These extended morbidity data on the occurrence of cirrhosis can easily be incorporated in future data based patient registers and should be applied in evaluation of costs and preventive strategies.