The British Journal of Psychiatry (2006) 188: 554-559. doi: 10.1192/bjp.188.6.554
© 2006 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit an eLetter
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Related articles in BJP
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by TAIT, R. J.
Right arrow Articles by HULSE, G. K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by TAIT, R. J.
Right arrow Articles by HULSE, G. K.

Hospital morbidity and alcohol consumption in less severe psychiatric disorder: 7-year outcomes

ROBERT J. TAIT, PhD and GARY K. HULSE, PhD

School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands, Australia

Correspondence: Dr Robert Tait, School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, D Block, QEII Campus, Nedlands, WA 6009. E-mail: rjtait{at}cyllene.uwa.edu.au

Declaration of interest None.

Funding detailed in Acknowledgements.

Background Substance use by people with severe psychiatric morbidity is associated with negative outcomes.

Aims To assess in adults with less severe psychiatric morbidity the relationship between alcohol consumption and subsequent 7-year hospital admissions, and the development and recurrence of alcohol use disorders.

Method Follow-up data were assembled via a population-based hospital record-linkage system.

Results Baseline alcohol use groups were: dependent (n=31), harmful (n=114), moderate (n=621) and abstinent (n=249). The moderate but not the abstinent group had fewer mental health admissions and a longer time to first admission than the harmful and dependent groups. Both the moderate and the abstinent groups had longer times to ‘all-cause’ admissions than the dependent group. Many of those with alcohol use disorders at baseline relapsed (66%) but few (14%) developed a first-time alcohol use disorder.

Conclusions Overall, moderate alcohol consumption among those with less severe psychiatric morbidity was not associated with more mental health admissions; those with alcohol dependence had poorer health outcomes than the remaining categories.


Related articles in BJP:

Highlights of this issue
KIMBERLIE DEAN
BJP 2006 188: 501-a21. [Full Text]  



This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Br. J. PsychiatryHome page
H. O'Connell
Moderate alcohol use and mental health
The British Journal of Psychiatry, December 1, 2006; 189(6): 566 - 567.
[Full Text] [PDF]