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Alcohol abuse and dementia
Author(s) -
King Michael B.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.930010106
Subject(s) - dementia , alcohol abuse , psychiatry , etiology , medicine , disease , alcohol , alzheimer's disease , gerontology , psychology , biochemistry , chemistry
Elderly outpatients on the register of the Alzheimer's Disease clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, were screened for alcohol abuse, the aim being to assess the rôle of alcohol in their dementia. Twenty one percent were found to be heavy drinkers or alcohol abusers, at some time in the past. Sixty‐four percent of these had been actively drinking at the time of onset of first symptoms of the dementia. Clinicians need to be alert to the possibility that alcohol may be an aetiological factor in their elderly patients presenting with dementia.