Hospital morbidity and alcohol consumption in less severe psychiatric disorder: 7-year outcomes.
BACKGROUND
Substance use by people with severe psychiatric morbidity is associated with negative outcomes.


OBJECTIVE
To assess in adults with less severe psychiatric morbidity the relationship between alcohol consumption and subsequent 7-year hospital admissions, and the development and recurrence of alcohol use disorders.


METHODS
Follow-up data were assembled via a population-based hospital record-linkage system.


RESULTS
Baseline alcohol use groups were: dependent (n=31), harmful (n=114), moderate (n=621) and abstinent (n=249). The moderate but not the abstinent group had fewer mental health admissions and a longer time to first admission than the harmful and dependent groups. Both the moderate and the abstinent groups had longer times to 'all-cause' admissions than the dependent group. Many of those with alcohol use disorders at baseline relapsed (66%) but few (14%) developed a first-time alcohol use disorder.


CONCLUSIONS
Overall, moderate alcohol consumption among those with less severe psychiatric morbidity was not associated with more mental health admissions; those with alcohol dependence had poorer health outcomes than the remaining categories.
Tait
Robert J
RJ
School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, D Block, QEII Campus, Nedlands, WA 6009. rjtait@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
Hulse
Gary K
GK
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D014904:Western Australia / Q000453:epidemiology