Drinking and dietary habits and prevalence of somatic abnormalities in chronic alcoholics hospitalized for detoxication.
The alcoholic histories and the physical status of 61 male chronic alcoholics have been studied within three days after the end of the last débauche. The mean duration of chronic alcoholism was 11 years. The drinking habits revealed an advanced consumption pattern in almost all of the patients. However, the majority was considered intermittent drinkers which stresses the difficulties of stating the amount of daily ethanol consumption. Somatic complaints were rather common but the physical status did not reveal signs of chronic liver damage or other serious diseases. Thirtythree of the patients gave their consent to a liver biopsy. Steatosis of the liver was seen in 23 of these patients. Only two patients had liver fibrosis and cirrhosis respectively. The amount of liver fat was not significantly correlated to any of the many statements on drinking and dietary habits.
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000175:diagnosis; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006339:Heart Rate; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged