Alcohol consumption and utilization of health services in a health maintenance organization
Alcohol consumption and utilization of health services in a health maintenance organization
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DOI：
10.1097/00005650-199811000-00009
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发表时间：
1998-11-01
期刊：
影响因子：
3
通讯作者：
Klatsky, AL
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Armstrong, MA;Midanik, LT;Klatsky, AL
目标。本研究对一家健康维护组织成员健康调查的4,264名成年人样本进行了为期9年的酒精使用与健康服务利用之间的关系。受访者被归类为不饮酒者（过去一年没有饮酒，n = 1139），轻度饮酒者（少于7杯/周，n = 2330），适度饮酒者（7至13杯/周，n = 498）和重度饮酒者（大于或等于14杯/周，n = 297）。每个饮酒者组与不饮酒者比较门诊就诊、住院天数和住院次数，控制年龄、种族和健康计划成员。平均门诊次数与饮酒量呈负相关。每年平均住院次数和平均住院天数也存在显著差异。与三个饮酒组相比，戒酒者在两项住院指标上的得分均显著高于饮酒组。这些结果可能是由于戒酒者中包括了一些因疾病、重度饮酒者对健康问题的忽视或饮酒者患病率较低而戒酒的人。这些发现强调了在其他人群中复制我们的研究的重要性，在这些人群中，可以识别问题饮酒者并将其与非问题饮酒者进行比较，并且可以在分析中将终身戒酒者与戒酒者区分开来。
OBJECTIVES. This study examined the relation between alcohol use and utilization of health services during a 9-year period in a sample of 4,264 adult respondents to a member health survey in a health maintenance organization.METHODS. Respondents were categorized as abstainers (no drinks in the past year, n = 1,139), lighter drinkers (less than seven drinks/week, n = 2,330), moderate drinkers (seven to 13 drinks/week, n = 498), and heavier drinkers (greater than or equal to 14 drinks/week, n = 297). Each drinker group was compared with abstainers on outpatient visits, hospital days, and number of hospitalizations controlling for age, race, and health plan membership.RESULTS. The mean number of outpatient visits was inversely related to the amount of alcohol consumed. Significant differences also were found for mean number of hospitalizations and mean days hospitalized per year. Compared with the three drinker groups, abstainers were significantly higher on both inpatient measures.CONCLUSIONS. These results might be explained by the inclusion in the abstainer group of exdrinkers who quit because of illness, inattention to health problems by heavier drinkers, or lower rates of illness among drinkers. The findings underscore the importance of replicating our study in other cohorts in which problem drinkers can be identified and compared with non-problem drinkers and in which lifelong abstainers can be separated from exdrinkers in the analysis.