Human Studies. Prevalence and mortality of heavy drinkers in a general medical hospital unit

• Published in: Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford) Vol. 36; no. 4; p. 335
• Main Authors: Jarque-Lopez, A, Gonzalez-Reimers, E, Rodriguez-Moreno, F, Santolaria-Fernandez, F, Lopez-Lirola, A, Ros-Vilamajo, R, Espinosa-Villarreal, J G, Martinez-Riera, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Oxford Publishing Limited (England) 01.07.2001
• ISSN: 0735-0414; 1464-3502

This study was performed in order to analyse the prevalence, clinical characteristics and mortality of heavy drinkers among hospitalized patients during a 2-year period. Chronic excessive alcohol consumption (daily intake >80 g of ethanol for males and >40 g for females) was found in 278 of 2913 hospital admissions and was strongly associated with the male sex (90.69%). Heavy drinkers were significantly younger than other admissions (15 and 10 years for men and women, respectively), but showed similar mortality rates to other admissions, despite a much earlier age at death (19.5 years for men and 22 years for women). There was a trend towards higher mortality rates among severe alcoholic women than severe alcoholic men and non-alcoholic women. Liver cirrhosis was the entity most frequently observed in the heavy drinkers, and was significantly more prevalent in alcoholic women.