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SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION
Author(s) -
Lotte Joosten
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1972.tb02229.x
Subject(s) - citation , computer science , information retrieval , psychology , library science
The material consists of information about patients with disorders associated with alcoholism admitted annually to Swedish psychiatric treatment units. I n addition patients with delirium tremens have been dealt with separately. The period under observation (19541964) includes two important events, the repeal of the spirits-rationing law on October ls t , 1955 and the two month long pay dispute a t the State Wine and Spirits Wholesale Company (Vinoch Spritcentralen) which decreased the distribution of alcoholic beverages during the spring of 1963. The law reform of 1955 marked the end of a nearly 40-year period of rationing of spirits in conjunction with registered wine sales. During the period of rationing individual purchases of spirits and wines were controlled by the issue of a licence booklet. Young people and women received a small or no ration, while men of good reputation could buy a maximum of 3 litres of spirits per month. The law reform also provided for the sale of 4.5 yo export beer. The strike was a pay dispute among the distributors of spirits and wines, but did not include the distribution of strong (4.5 yo) beer. A 3.6 beer (“mellanOl7’) did not become available until 1965 and therefore has not been dealt with in this paper. The material has been classified as to sex, diagnosis and six-monthly and yearly periods. The treatment units have been classified as mental hospitals and psychiatric departments in general hospitals and the material has been presented in these two classes and also combined. The number of mental hospitals increased during the period from 31 to 37 and the psychiatric departments from 8 to 26. Information about the annuaI admissions t o mental hospitals, obtained from official statistics has been used to calculate the proportion of the total number of admissions formed by patients with disorders associated with alcoholism. From the psychiatric departments in general hospitals no information about annual admissions was available. The National Tax Board (Riksskatteverket Alkoholbyrh, previously Kontrollstyrelsen) has provided information about the annual sales of alcoholic beverages and this has been used to calculate the average consump tion. The primary material is heterogenous. Information for the years 1954-