Alcoholism in VA inpatient facilities: some implications of the VA patient census

The 1977 patient census, conducted by the Veterans Administration in all its inpatient facilities, indicated that 21.1% of the VA patients were diagnosed as alcoholic by their attending physician or professional designee. The highest prevalence was found in VA domiciliaries (27.9%) and the lowest in VA nursing homes (13.5%). VA hospitals fell in between these with a prevalence of 21.2%. The differences in prevalence between these facilities appeared to be due to the different patients being treated in them. Also the majority of patients diagnosed as alcoholic were admitted to VA facilities for alcoholism-related medical problems (84.2%) and were under care for such disorders at the time of the survey (83.1%). As expected from previous research, men had a higher prevalence than women, age groups from 36 to 55 years had a higher prevalence than other age groups, and unmarried patients had a higher prevalence than married ones. Initially there was no overall difference in prevalence across racial, regional, and ethnic groups. However, after controlling for age and marital status, differences emerged across region and ethnicity. For example, the South had a somewhat lower prevalence in the 18-35 and the over 55 age groups. Spanish veterans had a substantially high prevalence in the 18-35 age group for both married and unmarried patients. Based on these and other independent research findings, it was concluded that the prevalence of alcoholism in VA inpatient facilities was probably no higher than expected given the sex, age, and socioeconomic status of its patient population, together with the inclusiveness of VA medical services.