Medical Blog

1. Alcohol consumption

    a.) Expressed as pure alcohol consumption

- This is a true reflection of morbidity alcoholic.
- In France, it consumes 19 liters of pure alcohol per adult over 15 years per year (133 liters of wine + 64 liters of beer + 2.5 liters of hard liquor)
- Charts.





Largest consumers                                                                 Less heavy users

    - 1er: France - 1st: France                                                      - 1er: Japon - 1 Japan
    - 2eme: Portugal - 2nd: Portugal                                             - 2eme: Suède - 2nd: Sweden
    - 3eme: Luxembourg - 3rd: Luxembourg                                  - 3eme: Chili - 3rd: Chile
    - 4eme: Espagne - 4th: Spain                                                 - 4eme: Finlande - 4th: Finland
    - 5eme: Italie - 5th: Italy

    b.) Changes in consumption - tendency to decrease in wine consumption

- Drinking beer and hard liquor increases.
- In Anglo-Saxon is the reverse.

    c.) Global

- Alcohol consumption increases.
- Increase in the level of alcohol.
- The average cost of alcohol decreases.

2. Mortality

    a.) Cirrhosis and neuro-psychiatric

20,000 deaths per year due to alcohol.

    b.) Road accidents + cancer due to alcohol cirrhosis + + neuropsychiatic diseases

50,000 deaths per year.

    c.) Accidents at work + + household accidents suicides

70,000 deaths per year.
In accidents, alcohol is involved in 15% of cases.

    d.) Domestic accidents

Alcohol is involved in 20% of cases.
A man of 25 who sinks into alcoholism has a life expectancy of less than 12 years.

3. Morbidity related to alcohol

- Alcohol is involved in 25% of all diseases.
- The number of heavy drinkers was 4.5 million.

4. The social cost of alcohol

The direct costs related to illness (hospitalizations and visits) + indirect costs (lost productivity) + + work stoppages accidents and crimes = 130 billion francs a year (tax of 6,000 francs per family).

1. Symptomatic forms of alcohol
  
   a.) Abstinent subjects

• Subjects with no alcohol consumption. This may be a recovering alcoholic.

    b.) Consumer temperate

• The alcohol is intermittent or regular basis. In any case it is moderate and does not involve any social problem or symptomatic.

    c.) Consumers at risk

• The alcohol causes a double risk of dependence and alcoolopathies. The goal is to detect early consumers at risk.

    d.) Alcoholics

• They are often alcohol-dependent. Psychological dependence usually will settle and physical dependence. The boundary is blurred between the alcoholic patients and consumers at risk.

2. Etiological Forms

    a.) Alcoolites: (alcoholism training, alcohol habits, alcohol imitation, primary alcohol)

• Epidemiology:

This represents between 40 to 50% of alcoholism in humans and it represents 1-5% of female alcoholism.

• Age of consultation:

About 40 years. Il débute en fin d'adolescence. It begins in late adolescence.

It is the departure of occasional users who will become regular customers. These are people who drink at dinner, wine or beer.Eventually everything is an excuse to drink with friends (never alone, always friendly). Consumption evolves little. It is daily and continuous.

These are people who are very rarely drunk. Tolerance will increase over time. Gradually, the dependency is installed without the knowledge of the subject. The subjects have no guilt.

They usually become aware of their alcohol in organic complications during withdrawal or involuntary or in social or family problems. There is often a substance identical in the family, especially on the father of the subject. These men often an older woman and have many children. Sexuality has long normal subjects but when it will get worse there will be a subject of pathological jealousy over his wife.

• Evolution:

    - A stop at the beginning of the spontaneous senescence (age).
    - Organic development of complications.
    - Gradual move towards alcoholism.

    b). Alcooloses (alcohol secondary alcohol psychic neurotic alcoholism, alcoholism decompensation)

• Epidemiology:

 40 to 50% of alcoholism in men and from 60 to 80% of female alcoholism.

• Age of consultation:

Between 20 and 45. Often young patients with immature relationship difficulties and existential. They use alcohol for the psychotropic effect. They often drink alone, so hidden.

These are people who have little attraction to alcohol and sometimes disgust. Consumption is irregular, paroxysmal. They can stay several months without drinking and stops will become shorter. Over time there is a psychological dependence that will occur and physical dependence. They have a guilt very important with respect to alcohol and they try to fight against alcoholism. These subjects consulted in connection with behavioral disorders (intoxication), suicide attempt, family or business failures.They have few physical problems at the start.

• Evolution:

This often progresses to severe behavioral problems, sometimes with a psychic evolution possible.

    c.) Somalcoolose: (alcoholism sympytomatic alcoholism perversion, dipsomania)

- Heredity:
- Nothing.
- Sexual problems very common.
- Evolution:

Is indefinite. Il ya un passage possible vers l'alcoolose. There is a possible transition to the alcoolose.

    d.) Clissification DSM3

• Alcohol abuse

For at least one month must be a pathological use of alcohol (inability to reduce or stop, episode of amnesia, continued use despite interference), or a disability of social or occupational functioning due to alcohol consumption.

• Dependency syndrome

Alcohol abuse (same criteria) plus an increased tolerance or withdrawal syndrome.

• This corresponds to an impulse to absorb alcohol regularly or repeatedly to derive pleasure or to endure a situation experienced as painful. Alcohol is consumed as a psychotropic drug.