title: Alcohol problem drinking among general hospital inpatients in northeastern Germany.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University of Greifswald, Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Walther-Rathenau-Str. 48, 17487 Greifswald, Germany. coder@uni-greifswald.de
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Coder
authors.forename: Jennis
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Freyer-Adam
authors.forename: Gallus
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bischof
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pockrandt
authors.forename: Birgit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: Hans-Jürgen
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Rumpf
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: John
authors.forename: Ulfert
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hapke
mesh_terms: 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