Caractéristiques médico-sociales des patients alcooliques hospitalisés dans deux services de médecine interne d'hôpitaux de Suisse romande [Medicosocial characteristics of hospitalized alcoholic patients in 2 internal medicine departments of hospitals in French-speaking Switzerland].

Two prospective studies were performed in the medical services of two hospitals located in the French-speaking part of Switzerland to assess the prevalence of alcoholism and the comparative medico-social characteristics of alcoholic and nonalcoholic patients aged 18 to 75. Both investigations used the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test, with a cut-off score of 5. The prevalence of alcoholism was similar in the two institutions (19.6 and 20.5%) and was much higher in males (30 to 32%) than in females (3 to 5%). Among alcoholics, the percentage of unmarried or divorced patients was higher than in nonalcoholics, as was the percentage of unemployed and subjects from lower socio-economic brackets. The most frequent type of alcohol-related disease was alcoholic liver disease, encountered in 25% of alcoholics in both services. Cigarette smoking was also much more frequent in alcoholics (60%) than in nonalcoholic patients (29%). The length of stay was 2 days longer for alcoholics in both hospitals, despite the lower mean age of these patients