Alcohol-related admissions to a psychiatric hospital: a comparison of Asians and Europeans

The prevalence of alcohol-related problems in the British Asian community is unknown. We obtained details of all patients living in Southall who had been admitted with a primary alcohol-related diagnosis to a psychiatric hospital from 1980 to 1987. We used 1981 census data to calculate overall and age-specific incidence rates for Asian and European men and woman, expressed per 10,000 subjects over the 7-year period. The overall incidence in Asian men (105.8) was markedly higher than in European men (54.3) (p less than 0.001). The overall incidence in Asian women was markedly lower than in European women (4.1 versus 18.6, p less than 0.001). Proportionately more Asian than European men were married (82% versus 34%, p less than 0.001). This pilot study suggests that alcohol-related problems severe enough to warrant inpatient treatment are unduly common in Southall Asian men, especially in married subjects. Further community-based studies are needed to ascertain the prevalence of alcoholism in this and other British Asian communities.