HEALTH OUTCOMES OF WOMEN EXPOSED TO HOUSEHOLD ALCOHOL-ABUSE - A FAMILY-PRACTICE TRAINING SITE RESEARCH NETWORK (FPTSRN) STUDY

BACKGROUND. There is a paucity of knowledge about the effects of expos ure to alcohol abuse in the household on women who do not abuse alcoho l. The purpose of this study was to determine whether women who did no t abuse alcohol demonstrated any health-related adverse effects becaus e they lived with family members who did abuse alcohol. METHODS. This study was a historical prospective survey of female patients at five p rimary care practices. Survey instruments included the CAGE questionna ire, a five-item screening test for exposure to alcoholism, and the Me dical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form Health Survey (MOS SF-36). Pat ient records were examined for specific diagnoses. RESULTS. A total of 267 patients completed the questionnaires and had complete medical re cords available for analysis. Forty-two (15.7%) potential alcohol abus ers were excluded from the sample leaving a working total of 225; 70 ( 31.1.%) were potentially exposed to alcoholism in the household. Women exposed to alcohol abuse in the home did not experience an increased risk for the medical diagnoses studied, but they did demonstrate decre ased health-related quality of life as measured by the MOS-SF-36 for t he following scales: role physical (P=.025), role emotional (P=.038), social functioning (P=.001), bodily pain (P=.016), and mental health ( P=.040). CONCLUSIONS. Women exposed to alcohol abuse in the household are more likely to perceive themselves as less healthy. Although they may not have received a clinical diagnosis of depression, they are mor e likely to feel depressed. The extent to which subjects' health-relat ed quality of life is influenced by exposure to alcohol abuse suggests that the medical diagnosis may be insensitive as a description of hea lth status in this population.