Nutritional assessment in alcoholic patients. Its relationship with alcoholic intake, feeding habits, organic complications and social problems

To establish their ability to predict malnutrition, irregular feeding, alco holic intake, derangement of social and familial links and organic complica tions (liver cirrhosis) were assessed in 181 hospitalized male alcoholic. B MI was under 18.5 kg/m(2) in 8.9%, between 18.5-20 kg/m(2) in 8.9%, 20-25 k g/m(2) in 42%, 25-30 kg/m(2) in 32.2% and over 30 kg/m(2) in 8.2% of patien ts. Malnutrition was related to the intensity of ethanol intake, developmen t of social or familial problems, irregularity of feeding habits and cirrho sis with ascites. Irregularity of feeding habits was also related to heavy drinking and to social or familial derangement. By logistic regression anal ysis, the only variables which independently predict malnutrition were irre gular feeding habits and liver cirrhosis with ascites. In a second step, ir regular feeding was dependent on social or familial troubles and daily inta ke of ethanol. So, malnutrition related to alcoholism seems multifactorial in its pathogenesis. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights rese rved.