Alcohol-related deaths among adults in the U.K. doubled between 1991 and 2006, according to research from the Office of National Statistics.

The Guardian reported Jan. 26 that 8,758 people in the U.K. died from alcohol-related causes like liver cirrhosis and other diseases in 2006, up from 4,144 in 1991. The biggest increase was found in men ages 35-54, rising from 13.4 per 100,000 population in 1991 to 31.1 per 100,000 in 2006 -- a 132-percent increase. The death rates also doubled for middle-aged women.

"It appears that for certain younger people who've been drinking heavily for most of their lives, the consequences are beginning to show themselves at ever earlier stages," said Frank Soodeen of the group Alcohol Concern.

 "My colleagues and I are seeing more women with serious liver damage than ever before in our clinics," added Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians.