Mortality among Male and Female Hospitalized Alcoholics in Stockholm 1962–1983

The general and case-specific mortality has been studied in a cohort consisting of 3,910 male and 962 female patients admitted to the Magnus Huss clinic, Karolinska hospital 1962–1981. The clinic is specialized in the care of voluntarily admitted patients with alcohol problems. The cohort has been followed until 20 March 1983. During this period there were 1,141 deaths among the male patients which gives the relative risk of 3.0, compared with the male population in Stockholm. Among the females there were 191 cases of death and the relative risk is 5.2. Among males there was a significant excess mortality due to alcoholism, cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatitis, tuberculosis, pneumonia, alcohol intoxication, suicide, other causes of violent death, ischaemic heart disease, cancer in upper digestive tract, primary hepatic cancer and lung cancer. Causes of death where a significant excess mortality was found among females were alcoholism, alcohol intoxication, cirrhosis of the liver, suicide, other causes of violent death and mammary cancer. The mortality ratios among males were lower for the married patients than among those living single. Among females the ratio was lower for divorced patients. There were no significant variations in the mortality ratios among different social classes, with the exception of females from the highest social class, who showed a lower mortality ratio. The mortality was higher among the patients who entered the clinic during the latter part of the observation period. The ratio was highest the first year after admission but there was a significant excess mortality as long as 20 years after the first treatment period.