[Alcohol consumption among patients aged 65 and over in an emergency medical department. A comparison between medical records and interviews].

METHODS

Two hundred and seven randomly selected patients more than 65 years of age were interviewed about their alcohol habits in a max. 15 minutes interview. The consumption was classified as "borderline consumption" (BC): 14/21 drinks per week female/male, "heavy users" (HU): more than 14/21 drinks per week female/male and "control group" (CG): less than 14/21 drinks per week female/male.

RESULTS

Twenty-five percent of the patients were BC or HU. Thirty-one percent of the HU had unspecified vertigo/falling tendency compared to 2% in the CG. Sixty-three percent of the HU and 77.7% of the BC were registered in their medical notes as having "no alcohol consumption" or a much lower (50%) consumption than that found by interview.

DISCUSSION: It is concluded, that you get a better estimate of alcohol consumption by asking: "How/when do you use alcohol?" and thereafter calculating the intake.