Patterns and Correlates of Alcohol Use- A Retrospective Study in a Secondary Care Hospital Setting
Correspondence Address :
Dr. Jibi Achamma Jacob,
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Christian Medical College, Bagayam,
Vellore-632002, Tamil Nadu, India.
E-mail: jibiachamma@gmail.com
Introduction: Alcohol use in India has been increasing over the years, and it results in myriad medical and psychosocial problems. Primary and secondary care physicians can play a unique role in the early recognition and treatment of patients with alcohol problems.
Aim: To determine the prevalence of different patterns of use of alcohol and factors associated with it among patients presenting to the psychiatry clinic in a secondary hospital.
Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of the medical records of patients attending the Psychiatry Department in a secondary care hospital in a semi-urban area of southern India who attended the clinic between 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2016 was made. Data regarding alcohol use and other clinical and socio-demographic details were analysed. Bivariate and multivariate statistics was used to identify factors associated with dependence pattern of alcohol use.
Results: A total of 103 charts, which documented substance use were analysed of which 78 documented alcohol use in the subjects. The mean age of the sample was 44.09±13.18 years and majority (97.43%) were males. The prevalence of a dependence pattern of alcohol use was 83.4%. Factors associated with alcohol dependence were being married, greater daily expenditure on alcohol, greater number of days of alcohol use in a month, presence of a co-morbid medical diagnosis, problems with employment and marital discord. Depression was present in 33 (42.3%) individuals and it was the most commonly associated psychiatric morbidity.
Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD) in secondary care settings. Tackling this problem requires a combination of strategies including early and effective medical and psychosocial intervention in addition to public health strategies and legislation to regulate the availability and consumption of the substance.
Alcoholism, Prevalence, Psychiatry
10.7860/JCDR/2021/49464.15341
Date of Submission: Mar 17, 2021
Date of Peer Review: Apr 28, 2021
Date of Acceptance: Jun 11, 2021
Date of Publishing: Sep 01, 2021
AUTHOR DECLARATION:
• Financial or Other Competing Interests: None
• Was Ethics Committee Approval obtained for this study? Yes
• Was informed consent obtained from the subjects involved in the study? No
• For any images presented appropriate consent has been obtained from the subjects. NA
PLAGIARISM CHECKING METHODS:
• Plagiarism X-checker: Mar 18, 2021
• Manual Googling: Jun 10, 2021
• iThenticate Software: Jul 13, 2021 (13%)
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