ALCOHOL-USE DISORDERS, CONSUMPTION PATTERNS, AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY-OF-LIFE OF PRIMARY-CARE PATIENTS

This study examined the association of alcohol use disorders and consu mption patterns with various dimensions of Health-Related Quality of L ife (HRQOL) in primary care patients, as measured by the SF-36 Health Survey, A probability sample of 1333 primary care patients completed t he Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule to determine the presence of alcohol abuse or dependence disorders, a nd answered questions about patterns of alcohol consumption, Physical and Mental Health Component Summaries and primary scales of the SF-36 were used as measures of HRQOL, Patients meeting criteria for alcohol dependence scored lower (poorer HRQOL) on the Mental Health Component Summary and each primary scale of the SF-36, whereas no differences we re observed for alcohol abusers compared with patients not meeting cri teria for a disorder, The association of alcohol dependence with dimin ished mental health functioning was mediated by its co-occurrence with mood and anxiety disorders, Patients who drank in a Frequent, Low-Qua ntity pattern generally had better overall HRQOL than patients from ot her consumption groups, Binge drinkers and Frequent, High-Quantity Dri nkers showed markedly lower scores in the areas of Role Functioning an d Mental Health, In contrast to recent studies of mental health proble ms in primary care, alcohol use disorders and consumption patterns see m to have a modest impact on patients' HRQOL, These effects, though, v ary by dimension of functioning, the presence of alcohol dependence ra ther than abuse, and pattern of alcohol consumption, Global measures o f HRQOL such as the SF-36 Health Survey may provide important indicato rs of treatment effectiveness in primary care intervention studies for patients with drinking problems.