Drinking pattern in persons with alcohol dependence with and without cirrhosis: A hospital-based comparative study

Background: Worldwide, alcohol is the most frequently used and socially accepted hepatotoxin. However, not everyone who has alcohol dependence develops alcoholic cirrhosis, and does quantity/type or pattern of alcohol intake determine the development of cirrhosis? A study of this nature would help in delineating similarities/differences in the drinking pattern between alcohol dependence and alcohol-induced cirrhosis groups. Aim: The aim was to study the drinking pattern of persons with alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS) and alcohol-induced cirrhosis. Materials and Methods: Alcohol Intake database and Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ) were administered to eighty male inpatients with a reliable family member of which forty were in ADS group and forty were in alcohol dependence with cirrhosis group. Results: Persons in the cirrhosis group were older with longer duration of drinking. There is no statistically significant difference in the educational status, religion, occupation, socioeconomic class, mean age of onset of drinking, mean age of development of dependence, type of beverage preferred, and initiating/maintaining factors between the two groups. The amount of alcohol consumed was significantly high in the cirrhosis group, with 33.5% in the high severity of dependence. They usually were drinking alone, outside meal times with regular and intermittent binge pattern. Conclusion: Alcohol dependence and alcohol-induced cirrhosis may be on a continuum but form a different group of heavy drinkers who may require different approaches to management.