Alcohol dependence among elderly French inpatients.

Objective/methods: The authors compared groups of heavier and lighter drinkers in a geriatric hospital inpatient unit in France, using questionnaire measures of alcohol dependence, sociodemographic characteristics, and cognitive status.

Results: Alcohol consumption is more frequent in men than in women; 9% of the geriatric patients (3% of women and 18% of men) show symptoms of alcohol dependence. Alcohol dependence is also associated with benzodiazepine treatment and nicotine dependence.

Conclusion: Elderly male patients hospitalized in the geriatric unit and receiving benzodiazepines should thus be identified as a population at risk for alcohol dependence, and medical practitioners should be alert to the possibility of overprescribing benzodiazepines past the acute withdrawal stage.