ORIGINAL ARTICLE


https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10067-0085
Indian Journal of Private Psychiatry
Volume 15 | Issue 2 | Year 2021

Recognition of a Person with Alcohol Dependence: A Community-based Survey

Shiji Pazhampallial Jose1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7945-0789, Supriya Hegde2, Neetha Kamath3

1Department of Community Health Nursing, Father Muller College of Nursing, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India

2Department of Psychiatry, Father Muller Medical College, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India

3Department of Community Health Nursing, NITTE Usha Institute of Nursing Sciences, NITTE (Deemed to be University), Mangaluru, Karnataka, India

Corresponding Author: Supriya Hegde, Department of Psychiatry, Father Muller Medical College, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India, Phone: +91 09845338287, email: aroor.supriyagmail.com

How to cite this article: Jose SP, Hegde S, Kamath N. Recognition of a Person with Alcohol Dependence: A Community-based Survey. Ind J Priv Psychiatry 2021;15(2):81–86.

Source of support: Nil

Conflict of interest: None

ABSTRACT

Aims: The aim of the study was to identify the alcohol dependents in selected communities.

Methods: Community-based descriptive survey was conducted. A total of 330 men who are residing in selected communities of Dakshina Kannada, were selected using the purposive sampling technique. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) tool was used to gather the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data.

Results: Majority (279) of men were categorized as alcohol dependents and about 51 were nonalcohol dependents out of 330 men based on AUDIT score. There was a significant association between AUDIT scores and demographic variables like family support.

Conclusion: Nowadays alcohol use is becoming the major public health concern as it affects not only the victim but also the entire family, which destroys the family life. So steps should be initiated to stop alcohol use.

Keywords: Alcohol dependence, Alcohol use, Prevalence.

INTRODUCTION

Alcohol is a social beverage and a relaxation facilitator. But when the same alcohol is misused, turns into an evil, which is sufficiently inflammable to burn the individual, family, society, and country as a whole.1

Alcohol addiction is one of the major problems of developing countries like India. Alcohol is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance in India.2 India’s alcohol beverage industry is one of the biggest alcohol industries across the globe. India is demographically one of the youngest users with around 50% of its population below the age of 25 years and around 65% below the age of 35 years consuming alcohol beverages. The majority of alcohol volume is consumed by people between the ages of 18 and 40 years.3 Alcohol consumption in India amounted to 5.4 billion liters in 2016 and was expected to reach about 6.5 billion liters by 2020. The steady increase in consuming alcoholic beverages can be attributed to multiple factors including the rising levels of disposable income and a growing urban population among others.4

Global consumption of alcohol beverages was estimated to be approximately 235.4 billion liters in 2017 and expected to reach 244.62 billion liters by 2021.5 Alcohol dependence is the most severe form of alcohol abuse and it involves inability to manage drinking habits. Individuals are struggling with alcohol addiction experience that they cannot function normally without alcohol every day. The addictive behavior of an individual will have great impact on professional goals, personal matters, relationships, overall health status, and gradually the person will suffer from various physical diseases as well as organ damage.6

A cross-sectional study was conducted to explore the prevalence of alcohol consumption and the associated risk factors among university students. A total of 3,456 students belonging to 24 years age-group (males: 1,301 and females: 2,155) were recruited for the study. Results proved that the prevalence of alcohol consumption in the previous 30 days was 20.3% (males: 36.0% and females: 10.8%). The alcohol consumption was significantly higher among males. So the researcher proposed that the effective campus-based counseling, peer education, and national surveillance systems that can monitor risky drinking behaviors among university students should be implemented.7

With all the abovementioned literature review, researcher felt the need to identify the person with alcohol dependence in the community area. Early identification of addiction behavior will help the individual to overcome various future consequences.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

  1. To identify the person with alcohol dependence in selected community.

  2. To find the association of alcohol dependence with selected demographic variables.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A community-based descriptive survey was conducted to identify the person with alcohol dependence in the Surathkal and Bantwal areas of Dakshina Kannada District. Prior to the data collection, permission was obtained from the District Health Officer and institutional ethics committee.

Participants

Subjects comprised of all adult men residing in the Surathkal and Bantwal area. A house-to-house survey was conducted to select 330 men using purposive sampling technique.

Instruments Used

  1. General pro forma to collect the sociodemographic variables

  2. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) tool is a standardized, valid, and reliable free-to-use instrument consisting of 10 items with five options scored (0–4) to identify the alcohol dependents. Maximum score can be 40 and scores in the range of >8 represented individuals considered as alcohol dependents.

Analysis of Data

The data gathered were tabulated, and statistical analysis was done by using SPSS version 23. The descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data and depicted in tables and figure (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Doughnut diagram showing the distribution of subjects according to AUDIT score

RESULTS

Section I: Identification of Alcoholics by Using AUDIT Screening Tool

This section deals with the identification of alcohol dependents from selected communities by using the AUDIT screening tool that categorizes the subjects as alcohol dependents and nonalcohol dependents based on the scores.

The data presented in Table 1 show that out of 330 men, majority (279) of the subjects were alcohol dependents. Only 51 subjects were nonalcohol dependents based on the AUDIT scores.

Table 1: Identification of alcohol dependents according to obtained AUDIT score (n = 330)
AUDIT score Alcohol dependents Nonalcohol dependents
>8 279
<8 51

Section II: Description of Sample Characteristics

This deals with the description of baseline characteristics of 279 alcohol dependents.

Data presented in Table 2 revealed that the majority (172) (61.6%) of subjects belonged to the age-group of 36 years and above and least in the age-group of 20–25 years (2) (0.7%). Most of them are Hindus (238) (85.3%). Highest percentage of the subjects (137) (49.1%) had primary education and only 1 (0.3%) had postgraduate and above level of education. Most (214) (76.75%) of the subjects belonged to BPL category. About 176 (63.08%) of them were daily wagers. Majority (114) (40.8%) of them had a monthly income of Rs.10,001–15,000 and only 2 (0.7%) had less than Rs. 5,000 as their monthly income of the family; and maximum percentage (114) (40.8%) belonged to the nuclear family. Majority (121) (43.3%) of them were from semiurban and 119 (42.6%) are residing in rural areas. Most of them (230) (82.4%) had both alcoholic and nonalcoholic friends. About 110 (39.4%) of the subjects had moderately adequate and 108 (38.7%) had a little family support. Majority (105) (37.6%) of them had 6–10 years of duration of alcoholism. About 187 (67.02%) of the subjects had more than 10 years of marital life. Highest percentage (121) (43.3%) of them had two children and 63 (22.5%) had three and more children. Most of the subjects (178) (63.8%) had mutual consent for taking decision in the family. Most of the subjects (222) (79.56%) had taken arrack as a type of alcohol consumed. Majority (156) (44.7%) of them had drunk 90 mL and above and 123 (55.3%) of them had 60–80 mL in a day.

Table 2: Frequency and percentage distribution of alcohol dependents according to their demographic characteristics (n = 279)
SI. No. Variable Frequency (f) Percentage (%)
1 Age in (years)    
  <20 0 0
  20–25 2 0.7
  26–30 25 8.9
  31–35 80 28.6
  36 and above 172 61.6
2 Religion    
  Hindu 238 85.3
  Muslim 15 5.3
  Christian 26 9.3
3 Educational status    
  No formal education 45 16.1
  Primary school 137 49.1
  Secondary school 57 20.4
  High school 36 12.9
  PUC 1 0.3
  Graduation 2 0.7
  Postgraduate and above 1 0.3
4 Type of family as per income    
  APL 65 23.26
  BPL 214 76.7
5 Occupation    
  Homemaker 0 0
  Daily wagers 176 63.08
  Business 73 26.1
  Technical 28 10.0
  Professional 01 0.3
6 Monthly income of the family (in rupees)    
  Less than 5,000 2 0.7
  5,000–10,000 89 31.8
  10,001–15,000 114 40.8
  >15,000 74 26.5
7 Type of family    
  Nuclear 114 40.8
  Joint 99 35.48
  Extended 66 23.6
8 Place of residence    
  Rural 119 42.6
  Semiurban 121 43.3
  Urban 39 13.9
9 Circle of friendship    
  Nonalcoholic friends 4 1.4
  Friends drinking alcohol 40 14.3
  Alcoholics and nonalcoholics (both) 230 82.4
  No friends at all 5 1.8
10 Family support    
  Not at all 21 7.5
  A little 108 38.7
  Moderately adequate 110 39.4
  Good support 40 14.3
11 Duration of alcoholism (in years)    
  <1 3 1.07
  1–5 76 27.2
  6–10 105 37.6
  >10 95 34.05
12 Duration of marital life (in years)    
  <5 16 5.7
  5–10 76 27.2
  >10 187 67.02
13 Number of children    
  None 20 7.1
  One 75 26.8
  Two 121 43.3
  3 and above 63 22.5
14 Primary decision-maker in the family    
  Husband 101 36.2
  Wife 0 0
  Mutual consent 178 63.8
15 Type of drink you consume    
  Brandy 30 10.7
  Whisky 24 8.6
  Arrack 222 79.56
  Rum 3 1.0
16 Amount of drink you consume on an average in a day (mL)    
  60–80 123 55.3
  90 and above 156 44.7

Section III: Description of AUDIT Responses of Subjects

This section deals with the description of AUDIT tool item-wise responses of 279 alcohol dependents.

Data presented in Table 3 show the item-wise response of subjects indicating how often they were taking alcohol.

Table 3: Frequency and percentage distribution of alcohol dependents according to their AUDIT item-wise responses (n = 279)
Item No Items Frequency (F) Percentage (%)
AUDIT 1 How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?
a Never (score—0) 27 9.7%
b Monthly or less (score—1) 120 43.0%
c 2–4 times a month (score—2) 122 43.7%
d 2–3 times a week (score—3) 10 3.6%
e Or more times a week (score—4) 0 0
AUDIT 2 How many alcoholic drinks do you have on a typical day when you are drinking?
a 1 or 2 (score—0) 3 1.1%
b 3 or 4 (score—1) 32 11.5%
c 5 or 6 (score—2) 162 58.1%
d 7 to 9 (score—3) 81 29.0%
e 10 or more (score—4) 1 0.4%
AUDIT 3 How often do you have six or more drinks on one occasion?
a Never (score—0) 1 0.4%
b Less than monthly (score—1) 44 15.8%
c Monthly (score—2) 149 53.4%
d Weekly (score—3) 84 30.1%
e Daily or almost daily (score—4) 1 0.4%
AUDIT 4 How often during the past year have you found that you drank more or for a longer time than you intended?
a Never (score—0) 4 1.4%
b Less than half-yearly (score—1) 66 23.7%
c Monthly (score—2) 121 43.4%
d Weekly (score—3) 88 31.5%
e Daily or almost daily (score—4) 0 0
AUDIT 5 How often during the past year have you failed to do what was normally expected of you because of your drinking?
a Never (score—0) 4 1.4%
b Less than monthly (score—1) 85 30.5%
c Monthly (score—2) 149 53.4%
d Weekly (score—3) 40 14.3%
e Daily or almost daily (score—4) 1 0.4%
AUDIT 6 How often during the past year have you had a drink in the morning to get yourself going after a heavy drinking session?
a Never (score—0) 27 9.7%
b Less than monthly (score—1) 42 15.1%
c Monthly (score—2) 132 47.3%
d Weekly (score—3) 77 27.6%
e Daily or almost daily (score—4) 1 0.4%
AUDIT 7 How often during the past year have you felt guilty or remorseful after drinking?
a Never (score—0) 7 2.5%
b Less than monthly (score—1) 65 23.3%
c Monthly (score—2) 137 49.1%
d Weekly (score—3) 68 24.4%
e Daily or almost daily (score—4) 2 0.7%
AUDIT 8 How often during the past year have you been unable to remember what happened the night before because of your drinking?
a Never (score—0) 27 9.7%
b Less than monthly (score—1) 72 25.8%
c Monthly (score—2) 109 39.1%
d Weekly (score—3) 68 24.4%
e Daily or almost daily (score—4) 3 1.1%
AUDIT 9 Have you or anyone else been injured as a result of your drinking?
a No (score—0) 27 9.7%
b Yes, but not in the past year (score—2) 188 67.4%
c Yes , during the past year (score—4) 64 22.9%
AUDIT 10 Has a relative, friend, doctor, or healthcare worker been concerned about your drinking, or suggested that you cut down?
a No (score—0) 12 4.3%
b Yes, but not in the past year (score—2) 188 67.4%
c Yes, during the past year (score—4) 79 28.3%

Data presented in Table 4 show the range, mean score, median, standard deviation (SD), and mean percentage (11–29, 21.06, 2.842, 21.00, and 52.64) of alcohol dependents according to AUDIT score, respectively.

Table 4: Range, mean, median, SD, and mean percentage of subjects according to AUDIT score (n = 279)
Group Range Mean SD Median Mean (%)
Alcohol dependents 11–29 21.06 2.842 21.00 52.64

Section IV: Association of AUDIT Scores with Demographic Variables

This section deals with association of AUDIT scores with demographic variables. The following null hypothesis was stated.

H01:There is no significant association between the AUDIT scores and demographic variables.

Data presented in Table 5 show that there is a significant association between AUDIT scores and demographic variables such as family support (p 0.007). Hence, the null hypothesis is rejected and research hypothesis and rest of the variables are not having any significant association; so, the null hypothesis is accepted and research hypothesis is rejected.

Table 5: Association of AUDIT scores with sociodemographic variables
SI. No. Variable Mean SD Df Effect size p value
1 Age in (years)          
20–25 20.90 3.19 1 0.728 0.000 NS
26–30 20.90 3.19      
31–35 20.90 3.19      
36 and above 21.16 2.61      
2 Religion          
Hindu 21.10 2.74      
Muslim 20.80 3.41 1 0.001 0.656
Christian 20.80 3.41     NS
3 Educational status          
No formal education 20.71 2.94      
Primary school 21.29 2.83      
Secondary school 20.89 2.82 2 0.005 0.504
High school 20.89 2.82     NS
PUC 20.89 2.82      
Graduation 20.89 2.82      
4 Type of family as per income          
APL 21.28 2.801 1 0.004 0.297
BPL 20.99 2.86     NS
5 Occupation          
Daily wagers 21.15 2.52      
Business 21.01 3.37 2 0.009 0.302
Technical 20.62 3.27     NS
6 Monthly income of the family (in rupees)          
Less than 5,000 21.14 2.94      
5,000–10,000 21.14 2.94 2 0.001 0.879
10,001–15,000 21.03 2.68     NS
>15,000 21.00 2.99      
7 Type of family          
Nuclear 21.14 2.97      
Joint 20.93 2.60 2 0.002 0.764
Extended 21.11 2.99     NS
8 Place of residence          
Rural 21.36 2.71      
Semiurban 20.84 2.69 2 0.012 0.213
Urban 20.79 3.60     NS
9 Circle of friendship          
Friends drinking alcohol 20.82 2.92      
Alcoholics and nonalcoholics (both) 21.11 2.83 1 0.001 0.681 NS
10 Family support          
A little 20.88 2.94      
Moderately adequate 21.05 2.65 2 0.038 0.007 S
Good support 21.68 3.02      
11 Duration of alcoholism (in years)          
1–5 20.81 3.25      
6–10 21.15 2.78 2 0.001 0.895
>10 21.16 2.55     NS
12 Duration of marital life (in years)          
5–10 20.65 3.00      
>10 21.26 2.75 1 0.008 0.159 NS
13 Number of children          
One 20.73 2.46      
Two 21.47 2.95 2 0.012 0.211
3 and above 20.78 3.10     NS
14 Primary decision-maker in the family          
Husband 21.12 2.77      
Mutual consent 21.02 2.89 1 0.001 0.704 NS
15 Type of drink you consume          
Brandy 20.65 2.89      
Whisky 20.38 3.21 2 0.023 0.056
Arrack 21.23 2.78     NS
16 Amount of drink you consume on an average in a day (mL)          
60–80 21.07 3.27      
90 and above 21.04 2.46 1 0.001 0.559 NS

DISCUSSION

The present community-based study was conducted to identify the person with alcohol dependence in two selected communities of Dakshina, Kannada districts. A house-to-house survey was conducted to find out the alcohol-dependent individuals, and a total of 330 men were screened using AUDIT tool out of which 279 of them were found to be alcohol dependents.

In this study, we found majority of the subjects (172) (61.6%) belong to the age-group above 36 years and majority of them were having primary education (137) (49.1%). Similarly in another cross-sectional study, community-based survey was conducted to identify the prevalence of alcohol consumption, pattern of drinking, and its effect on people’s health and social consequences. Using cluster sampling method study, participants selected from 850 households were 2,551, of which 1,352 were male and 1,199 were female. Results revealed that the overall prevalence of alcohol use among ≥18 years of age was 9.7% and exclusively among males was 17.1%. The highest prevalence (17.1%) was among 46–55 years age-groups.2

The present study also proved that majority of the subjects belongs to Hindu religion (238) (85.3%) and among them, 121 (43.3%) were residing at semiurban area. Another descriptive study was conducted to determine the prevalence and determinants of harmful or hazardous alcohol use and possible dependence as per the AUDIT score 8 and above. A total of 1,119 subjects were selected for the study using systematic sampling method. Results proved that the mean age (SD) of all respondents was 39.10 (12.06) years. The prevalence was likely higher in men, X2 = 38.7; p <0.001; among the Christians, X2 = 49.3, p <0.001; employed, X2 = 9.8, p = 0.002; among smoker, X2 = 11.6, p = 0.001; and higher in the rural setting, X2 = 13.5, p = 0.001.8

Another cross-sectional study was conducted in rural and urban field practice areas to assess the impact of prolonged alcohol use on different systems of the body leading to various health problems. Results proved that majority of the regular alcohol users were suffering from different liver diseases like fatty infiltration (60) (56.08%), alcoholic hepatitis (25) (23.36%), and alcoholic cirrhosis (10) (9.35%). In cardiovascular system assessment, 23 subjects (21.50%) were suffering from severe hypertension.9

The present study proved that there is a significant association between the AUDIT scores with family support (p 0.007). Similarly, a community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among the adult population to estimate the pattern of alcohol consumption and to determine its correlation. A total of 99 (n = 99) adult (≥18 years) men and women were selected as study subjects using Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) technique. Results showed that the prevalence of low-risk drinking or abstinence (Zone I) was 65.5% (95% CI 55.5–75.5%), the prevalence of alcohol use in excess of low-risk (Zone II) was 17.6% (95% CI 7.6–27.6%), the prevalence of harmful and hazardous drinking (Zone III) was 8.5% (95% CI 0–18.5%), and the prevalence of alcohol dependence (Zone IV) was 8.4% (0–18.4%). Association between risk level of hazardous and harmful use of alcohol with various sociodemographic factors shows that there is a statistically significant association (χ2 = 32.675, p).10

CONCLUSION

Alcoholism is one of the emerging and major public health problems of the developing country like India. Study findings revealed that being a healthcare provider it is our responsibility to take various measures in order to educate the public regarding the consequences of chronic alcoholism through sensitization programs and collaborative health education campaigns.

ORCID

Shiji Pazhampallial Jose https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7945-0789

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