WAIS functioning of cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic alcoholics

This study was done to determine whether the cognitive dysfunction often found in chronic alcoholics would be greater for alcoholics with Laennec's cirrhosis than for alcoholics without cirrhosis. It was hypothesized that cirrhotic alcoholics would score lower than non-cirrhotic alcoholics, who in turn would score lower than non-alcoholic, non-cirrhotic controls on (1) WAIS Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ; (2) scaled score configuration; and (3) the Wechsler Deterioration Quotient. The WAIS was administered in a Veterans Administration Center to 60 Caucasian male patients aged 35-64 who had been assigned to one of the three groups (N = 20 per group). No differences were found among groups on age, education, or the Information and Vocabulary subtests (p greater than .05). Significant differences (p less than .05) were found on Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ, the remaining nine subtests, and the Deterioration Quotient. A stepwise discriminate function analysis substantiated these differences. It was concluded that Laennec's cirrhosis is a physical condition that negatively affects intellectual functioning in alcoholics.