The physical disease characteristics of inpatient alcoholics.

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Abstract
With data from 1001 inpatient alcoholics, a lifetime physical disease profile was constructed. Some conditions, such as trauma and peptic ulcer, occurred earlier in the course of alcoholism than others, such as cirrhosis and chronic brain damage. Disease entities such as gastritis, hypertension and pancreatitis occur during the middle years of heavy drinking. Correlation coefficient analysis showed a pattern of disease clustering which reflected the toxic and nutrient-displacing effects of alcohol and the alcoholic lifestyle, as well as disease associations commonly encountered in the general population. The strongest correlations were between gastrointestinal hemorrhage and peptic ulcer, chronic brain damage and peripheral neuropathy, diabetes and obesity, and anemia and cirrhosis.