title: Hazardous alcohol use in general psychiatric outpatients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hazardous alcohol use in psychiatric patients may increase the risk of the development of a substance use disorder and negatively affect the course of the psychiatric disorder.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the prevalence of hazardous alcohol and drug use in a Swedish psychiatric outpatient population with particular focus on hazardous alcohol consumption and assess relationships of hazardous alcohol use to sex, age and psychiatric diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  General psychiatric outpatients, n = 1,679, completed a self-rating Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hazardous or harmful alcohol habits occurred among 22% of all women and 30% of all men with higher prevalence among younger patients. Nine percent of all women and 22 % of all men reported binge drinking. Binge drinking was more frequent in younger subjects. Women with a personality disorder diagnosis had a higher frequency of at risk drinking. Apart from that, psychiatric diagnosis was unrelated to rate of hazardous drinking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hazardous alcohol use was common in this psychiatric outpatient population. With regard to possible risks related to drinking in psychiatric patients, alcohol habits should be assessed as a part of good clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Science, Division of Psychiatry, University Hospital Lund , Lund , Sweden.
authors.forename: Sophia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eberhard
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nordström
authors.forename: Agneta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Öjehagen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D063425:Binge Drinking / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Hazardous alcohol use; binge drinking; brief intervention; psychiatry