Alcohol abuse among elderly patients in a general hospital as identified by the Munich Alcoholism Test

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of alcohol abuse among elderly patients in a general hospital. Scores on the Dutch version of the Munich Alcoholism Test (MALT) and medical records were obtained from 132 patients aged 65 and over, staying at the University Hospital Leiden. According to the MALT, 9% of the elderly patients (13% of the men and 7% of the women) were classified as alcoholics. In contrast, the discharge diagnosis involved alcohol dependence or abuse for only 0.5% of the patients 65 years and over admitted in 1989. In this study, two thirds of the alcoholic patients were recognized by the attending physician. Vague symptoms as admission diagnosis occurred more frequently in alcoholics than in nonalcoholics. Regarding former medical diagnoses, alcoholics had suffered significantly more often from organic brain diseases. In comparison to nonalcoholics, elderly alcoholics used more psychotropic drugs.