[Alcohol abuse as a cause of illness in an internal medicine department with emphasis on gastroenterology and hepatology].

The percentage and spectrum of alcohol-induced diseases were determined in 200 male and female patients. In 28 percent of the men and 8 percent of the women, inpatient treatment had been necessitated in the first instance by alcohol-induced diseases. In both men and women abusing alcohol, the percentage of younger patients was appreciably higher than in patients who did not abuse alcohol. Among male drinkers, the most common pathologies diagnosed were diseases of the liver (78.6%), the upper gastrointestinal tract, the pancreas (51.7%) and the central nervous system (42%), as well as cardiovascular diseases (23.2%). The majority of male patients abusing alcohol had two or more organic diseases (80%). In 35.4%, three or more different diseases were diagnosed. Among female patients abusing alcohol, the pattern of the various diseases was largely identical with that seen among the male patients. The duration of hospitalisation was appreciably longer in male drinkers (mean +/- SD = 14.1 +/- 10.1 days). Among male drinkers 51.8%, and among female drinkers 68.7%, were also heavy smokers. Of the 144 men in whom alcohol abuse was not certain, 30 were heavy smokers and, in the main, were being treated for cardiac and/or bronchopulmonary diseases. It is highly probable that, owing to the nature of the evaluation employed, the percentages of patients abusing alcohol or nicotine were underestimated. The fact that a high 43% of mainly younger male patients presented with diseases that could be traced back mainly or solely to alcohol or tobacco consumption, together with the multimorbidity and chronicity of the diseases of these patients underscores the urgent need to attach more importance to promoting preventive measures.