Abstract
Background:Alcohol use is on the rise worldwide and urgent steps are required to curb this growing burden of alcohol consumption. Alcohol drinking leads to serious social, physical and mental consequences.Objective:The objective of this pilot study is to examine association between socio-demographics and severity of alcohol dependence among individuals obtaining treatment at alcohol de-addiction center.Methods:This pilot cross sectional study was conducted in September 2013 in South India. A convenient sample of 100 participants was enrolled. Individuals aged 30 years and above, receiving treatment from de-addiction center and providing written informed consent were eligible for the study. A modified version of previously validated questionnaires was used for gathering information on socio-demographic characteristics, severity of alcohol dependence (using Alcohol Dependent Scale [ADS] and Short Alcohol Dependence Data questionnaire [SADD]), motivational incentives for alcohol quitting and challenges faced while quitting alcohol.Results:All participants were males with mean age of 43 years (SD = 6.5 years). Significant association was seen between ADS and annual income (p = 0.001), education (p = 0.001), occupation (p < 0.0001) and work timing (p < 0.0001). Similar results were seen with SADD scores. Family support (100%) and health (60%) were reported to be the most important motivating factors for quitting alcohol.Discussion:Results showed an urgent need of interventions that are family centered and focus on unskilled, less educated individuals having high work stress. Public health interventions should not only be home based, but should also include worksite awareness initiatives. A national policy is needed to promote alcohol quitting and to bring awareness regarding the consequences of alcohol consumption on individual’s life.
Highlights
Alcohol drinking is common practice in many parts of the world
A modified version of previously validated questionnaires was used for gathering information on socio-demographic characteristics, severity of alcohol dependence, motivational incentives for alcohol quitting and challenges faced while quitting alcohol
Results showed that 39% of the participants drank enough to get drunk during their last time of drinking. 27% of the participants reported drinking throughout the day. 50% of them reported having hangovers on Sunday or Monday mornings. 76% of the participants use to gulp drinks and 59% of them cannot stop after one drink. 54% of the participants reported frequent trembling of hands and 55% of them had the tendency to have physical sickness as a result of drinking. 45% of the participants agreed to have reported several episodes of delirium tremens. 59% of them reported delusion once or several times after drinking
Summary
Its consumption leads to serious social, physical and mental consequences (World Health Organization [WHO], 2011). Prior studies have shown that alcohol use exposes the individual to acute health conditions like road traffic accidents and risk of acquiring chronic diseases. Alcoholism is a progressive disease in which individual has been unable to quit drinking and continues to drink even after knowing its harmful effects. Individual faces problem in controlling the drinking, is preoccupied with alcohol, is drinking more to get the desired effect and if stops drinking, individual will face alcohol withdrawal symptoms (Mayo clinic, 2012; Hoffman & Tabakoff, 1996). An alcoholic can’t predict the amount, duration and consequences of alcohol drinking consistently (Mayo clinic, 2012; “Alcoholism”, 2013). Alcohol drinking leads to serious social, physical and mental consequences
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