The prevalence and correlates of alcohol use disorder amongst bipolar patients in a hospital setting, Malaysia

Abstract

Objective. To determine the prevalence of alcohol-use disorder and associated correlates amongst bipolar patients in a university hospital in Malaysia. Methods. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 121 bipolar disorder patients were included. Their alcohol use disorders were assessed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (plus version) and the Addiction Severity Index-Lite-Clinical Factors version. The number of lifetime hospitalizations and the survival days (the number of days between the last discharge and the most current readmission) were calculated. Results. The prevalence of alcohol-use disorder amongst bipolar patients was 18.2%. Indian ethnicity was the only demographic factor that was statistically associated with alcohol-use disorder (p < 0.03). Those with alcohol-use disorder had a significantly higher rate of suicidal attempt (p < 0.01) and more psychiatric hospitalizations than those without after adjusting for gender, race, employment status, education level and duration of illness (p < 0.01). Conclusions. The prevalence of alcohol-use disorder was low in bipolar patients but highin the general population of Malaysia. Since alcohol-use disorder, as well as the potential interactions with the course of the disorder, is highly prevalent amongst bipolar patients, alcohol use should be addressed in these patients.