Trends in alcoholism among male doctors in Scotland

Alcohol abuse within the medical profession has long been an issue of concern. Recently, the General Medical Council reported that half of the doctors reported for health difficulties liable to affect professional competence were found to have an alcohol problem. This paper examines how rates of alcoholism among male doctors in Scotland have changed over the last three decades. Admission and discharge rates for doctors to psychiatric inpatient beds with diagnoses of alcoholism are compared with non-medical professions, for the years 1963-87. The results, assessed in the light of changing Standardized Mortality Rates for liver cirrhosis for the medical profession, suggest that doctors as a group remain at a higher risk of alcoholism compared to other professionals, but that this increased risk appears to be largely accounted for by a cohort of heavy-drinking doctors over the age of 45 years.