Comorbidity of Alcoholism with Other Nosologies

Abstract

Introduction Alcoholism is defined by the American Medical Association (AMA) as "a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations." The aim of the study The aim of this study is to assess the co-occurring disorders or diseases, that are found in patients with alcoholism. Materials and Methods This is a retrospective study, carried out in the Department of Alcohology and Department of Clinical Addiction and Toxicology, at the Mother-Teresa Medical Centre in Tirana. In our study, we included 330 patients, who were followed from January 2012 till June 2013. The diagnoses of alcohol abuse were based on lab exams and anamnesis. Results In this study, we included patients who were hospitalized and treated at the Mother-Teresa Medical Centre in Tirana, between January 2012 and June 2013. Neuropathies are the most common disorder in these patients, reflected by 26.6% of the cases. Moreover, the most common disease observed in these patients is Alcoholic Hepatopathy (13,6% of the cases), followed by 12,4% with multi-substance abuse. Conclusion Our data show that various diseases such as mental disorders, hepatopathy and polyneuropathy are the nosologies that more often accompany alcoholism.

Keywords: alcohol abuse; co-occurring; disorder; comorbid; disease.