Study of Profile of Alcoholics Attending Deaddiction Center: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction : Alcohol abuse has been identified as one of the important public health concerns in India. The population groups at great risk because of cultural and social-economic changes. Alcohol has a marked effect on the central nervous system. Alcohol produces psychological dependence of varying degree from mild to strong and physical dependence develops slowly. Aim and Objective : The objective of the study was as follows: (1) To determine the sociodemographic profile of alcoholics and (2) to assess the drinking pattern among the alcoholics. Methodology : It is a cross-sectional study conducted from April to November 2019 among alcoholics attending deaddiction center. All patients attending during the deaddiction center were included in the study. After taking consent and explaining the purpose of the study, pretested semi-structure questionnaire was filled by interviewing each participant. Data were entered into MS excel sheet. Percentage and Chi-square test were used for analysis. Results : Average age of the participants was 36.40 ± 8.87 years. Majority of the participants in the study were from rural area, that is, 76% and only 24% were from urban area. Average age at initiation of alcohol was 22.36 ± 7.476 years. Average years of usage of alcohol were 14.05 ± 8.25 years. Conclusion : Alcohol initiation was observed in younger age group and most of them were in economically productive age group which resulted in burden on the family. Awareness programs need to be conducted in the community to address alcohol addiction specifically targeting teenagers. Key words: Alcoholics, cross sectional study, deaddiction centre