Abstract

Objectives: This study assessed the rate of alcohol use in hospitalized patients at a general hospital in Iran.

Methods: In a cross-sectional descriptive study, 571 patients from 11 wards of Hazrat-e-Rasoul�Hospital were evaluated by a demographic questionnaire. The Pediatrics, Emergency, ICU, and CCU wards were excluded from the study. The sampling was implemented through the nonran-domized convenient method.

Findings: The rate of current alcohol use was 9.6% (8.9% in males and 0.7% in females) in all 25.4% of the patients  (22.8% in males and 2.6% in females) reported to alcohol use in their life-time. The highest rates of current alcohol use were observed in the orthopedic ward (25.3%), the 15-29 years old age group (47.3%), and the patients with education under high school diplomas (56.4%). The rate of current alcohol use was 54.5% in married patients while in single, divorced, or widows, the rate was 45.5%. The weekly alcohol consumption was the most frequently reported pattern of current use (34.5%).

Results: There is a considerable prevalence of alcohol use among the patients in a general hospital. Attending to its impact on presentation and treatment of various diseases is essential.