[Sex differences in alcoholics at a psychiatric emergency clinic]

All patients attending the psychiatric emergency clinic at Odense University Hospital in the period 2.9-6.10.1985 were interviewed by a psychiatric nurse and physician in order to determine disease pattern and social circumstances. The present investigation deals with sex distribution of alcoholics in the data collected. In the period, 141 patients with alcoholic problems were registered; of these 97 were men and 44 women. It was found that more female alcoholics than male were married/cohabiting. Unemployment was very high for both groups; almost 80 per cent being unemployed. A great number of the women had interpersonal conflicts, but apart from that the sex difference for amount of psychosocial strain was not significant. Drug abuse and affective reactions were significantly more frequent in women. More women than men were found to suffer from character neuroses, and more men than women were deviants, but this may be a reflection of a diagnostic tradition. It must be concluded that more similarities than differences were found between male and female alcoholics attending the psychiatric emergency department.