Alcohol problem drinking among general hospital inpatients in northeastern Germany.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate proportions of alcohol problem drinking: alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and drinking above recommended levels among general hospital inpatients in northeastern Germany.


METHODS
The sample includes consecutively admitted inpatients (n=14,332) between 18 and 64 years old. This study adopted a two-stage-sampling approach including screening and ascertainment of diagnosis based on DSM-IV criteria and a quantity-frequency index.


RESULTS
In total, 20.4% of all inpatients screened positive. Nine percent of the total sample were identified with current problem drinking in the following descending order: 5.3% AUD and 3.6% drinking above recommended levels. In addition, 3.1% of persons were diagnosed with alcohol dependence in remission. Proportions differed significantly among men and women (P<.001). Higher proportions of problem drinking were found at rural sites compared to urban sites (13.7% vs. 7.5%, P<.001).


CONCLUSIONS
In addition to AUDs, drinking above recommended levels is a common problem among general hospital inpatients. Thus, the implementation of systematic alcohol screening and brief interventions should be considered.
Coder
Beate
B
Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University of Greifswald, Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Walther-Rathenau-Str. 48, 17487 Greifswald, Germany. coder@uni-greifswald.de
Freyer-Adam
Jennis
J
Bischof
Gallus
G
Pockrandt
Christine
C
Hartmann
Birgit
B
Rumpf
Hans-Jürgen
HJ
John
Ulrich
U
Hapke
Ulfert
U
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population