Alcohol use, alcohol disorders, and the use of health services: Results from a population survey

Data from a population survey were used to explore relationships among drin king levels/patterns, alcohol dependence or abuse, and the use of emergency services, hospital admissions, and frequent visits to general practitioner s in the past year. For both males and females, self-reported hospital admi ssions were less common among daily moderate drinkers than among lifetime a bstainers. Among males, drinkers with no history of alcohol dependence or a buse were less likely to report being in hospital in the last year than lif etime abstainers. For females, some groups defined by drinking patterns/lev els and current drinkers without symptoms of alcohol abuse or dependence we re more likely to report using emergency services than lifetime abstainers.