Illicit alcohol (moonshine) consumption in West Alabama revisited.
BACKGROUND
Lacy and Wintemitz in 1984 and Pegues in 1991 showed the presence of moonshine-related lead poisoning in Alabama.


METHODS
This study was a 10-year follow-up to the Lacy and Wintemitz study and used a similar inpatient retrospective chart review methodology. We looked at cases occurring between 1989 and 1992, which were positive for either a history of moonshine consumption or lead intoxication and cases suspicious for the diagnoses, based on the Lacy and Wintemitz epidemiologic parameters.


RESULTS
A declining, yet continuing, presence of moonshine-related lead intoxication still exists in west Alabama.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest the current at-risk patients may continue to be middle-aged to elderly men from rural settings. Furthermore, appropriate screening tests were not always ordered, which suggests a possible lack of awareness of the disorder by care givers.
Ellis
T
T
College of Community Health Sciences, Department of Psychiatry, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Tuscaloosa 35401, USA.
Lacy
R
R
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D007854:Lead; D000431:Ethanol