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Social factors and readmission after inpatient detoxification in older alcohol‐dependent patients
Author(s) -
Van den Berg Julia F.,
Van den Brink Wim,
Kist Nicolien,
Hermes Jolanda S. J.,
Kok Rob M.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the american journal on addictions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.997
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-0391
pISSN - 1055-0496
DOI - 10.1111/ajad.12287
Subject(s) - medicine , poisson regression , proportional hazards model , detoxification (alternative medicine) , alcohol dependence , multivariate analysis , alcohol use disorder , psychiatry , emergency medicine , demography , alcohol , environmental health , population , biochemistry , chemistry , alternative medicine , pathology , sociology
Background and Objectives Alcohol dependence is often a chronic relapsing disorder with frequent admissions to inpatient facilities. This study in older alcohol‐dependent inpatients investigates the role of social factors in readmissions after inpatient detoxification. Methods In a prospective study, 132 older alcohol‐dependent patients admitted to inpatient detoxification (mean age 63.4, SD = 6.6, 39.4% women) were interviewed with the European version of the Addiction Severity Index (Europ‐ASI). Readmission to inpatient treatment was monitored up to 1 year after discharge. The effect of social factors on readmission, the number of readmissions and the time to first readmission was established using group comparisons, Poisson regression analysis, and Cox' proportional hazards regression analysis, respectively. Results Sixty‐seven (50.8%) of the 132 patients were readmitted within 1 year. In this group, the median number of readmissions was 2 (IQR = 2, range 1–6) and the median time to first readmission was 88 days (IQR = 116, range 3–356). In a multivariate analysis, spending most leisure time alone predicted fewer readmissions. None of the other social factors predicted readmission, number of readmissions or time to first readmission. Discussion and Conclusions Rehospitalization of older alcohol‐dependent patients after detoxification is very common, and generally not predicted by social factors. Only spending most leisure time alone may play a role. Scientific Significance This study shows that most social factors are—unexpectedly—not associated with rehospitalization of older alcohol‐dependent patients after detoxification. “Spending leisure time alone” warrants further study as a potentially modifiable predictor. (Am J Addict 2015;XX:1–6)