Alcoholism in Vietnam and Korea veterans: a long term follow-up

The prevalence of alcoholism was assessed in veterans of the Vietnam and Korean wars. In addition, the role played by exposure to combat in excessive alcohol consumption was evaluated. One-third of patients attending clinics that were not devoted to the treatment of alcoholism had alcohol-related problems. This is far in excess of general population prevalence estimates. A significant association was found between combat exposure and excessive alcohol use. Close to 60% of a group of veterans exposed to combat drank excessively at the time of our study versus only 25% of a group of veterans of the Vietnam and Korean eras. An association between alcoholism and war experiences had already been observed by others in the early postwar era. Our data show that the effects of combat exposure can persist for more than a decade after the stressful events.