Citation

Lindegaard B, Eriksson B. Proc. Int. Counc. Alcohol Drugs Traffic Safety Conf. 1981; 1981: 382-395.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1981, The author(s) and the Council, Publisher International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A group of 162 male chronic alcoholics in Gothenburg, all born in 1934, were studied with respect to health care, sick leave, disability pensions, intervention by the temperance board, and mortality. The observation period was from 1967 to 1976. During this period the average population size of men born in 1934 was 2200. A person was identified as a chronic alcoholic at the mental hospital, through the temperance board or from records of somatic and psychiatric care at the general hospital. Identification was made on criteria selected to ensure that included persons were correctly considered as chronic alcoholics. The annual use of somatic care increases continuously for the study group over the study period. Annual use for the total population shows an opposite trend. Psychiatric care increases at the mental hospital but decreases at the psychiatric department of the general hospital during the period. Sick leaves increase drastically and 26 persons receive disability pensions. Among the 162 chronic alcoholics, 10 deaths are recorded, or 6.2 per cent compared to 2.3 per cent in the total population of men born in 1934. (TRRL)