A descriptive study of elderly community-dwelling alcoholic patients in the rural south.
Alcohol-related disorders, estimated to be more prevalent in the South, are associated with serious comorbid disorders, such as depression and suicide. In a rural outreach program, the authors examined patients with a diagnosis of alcoholism and compared them with nonalcoholic patients on various demographic and descriptive variables. Of 166 patients referred to the program, 35 (21.1%) had an alcohol-related disorder. Alcoholism was significantly associated with male gender and younger age, but nearly half of the alcoholic subjects were women. Alcoholism is associated with inappropriate health care utilization; alcohol-related disorders produced significantly more emergency room visits and somewhat more hospital admission; these patients were less likely to have a primary care physician. No patient was receiving treatment for alcoholism.
Holroyd
S
S
University of Virginia, Department of Psychiatric Medicine, Blue Ridge Hospital, Charlottesville 22901, USA.
Currie
L
L
Thompson-Heisterman
A
A
Abraham
I
I
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011788:Quality of Life; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014768:Virginia / Q000453:epidemiology; D000092864:Suicide Prevention