The fate of drinkers: a six-year follow-up study of a community survey.

A study of the drinking habits of Coloured adults in 1963, and of a sample of the same population 6 years later, showed that drinking patterns had remained remarkably stable. Excessive drinkers tended to retain their drinking pattern. Very few ceased drinking on their own account and a negligible proportion came forward for treatment. Social drinkers and abstainers also tended to maintain their patterns of drinking--only a few became excessive drinkers. The mean age of excessive drinkers was lower than that of the social drinkers and abstainers. There was much less excessive drinking among women.