One-tenth of state's drinkers in high-risk zone: Study

A population-based study, conducted by the state mental authority, has found that the prevalence of alcohol-related psychiatric problems among those who consume a lot of alcohol are high. This study added that one-tenth of these drinkers are in the 'high-risk' zone, resulting in several health problems, including psychic disorders.
The report indicated that 3% of the men in Kerala were facing this problem.Among those with the alcohol related problems, 98.43% are in the '18 and above' age-group. Of this, 95.3% are men. “We found that almost half of those with significant alcohol-related problems seem to have several issues. Similar pattern is seen in all districts. Alcohol-related problems are more in Idukki and least in Wayanad,“ said the report submitted by Dr D Raju, secretary, state mental health authority.
Experts said that alcohol-induced dementia and memory loss are the two most common disorders among habitual consumers of alcohol. “Memory loss is seen among those who have been addicted to drinks for years. But this is reversible with proper medical care. If we can bring them back to normal life, this memory loss is reversible,“ said Dr Vibhukumar, associate professor, Thiruvananthapuram MCH.
Usually, dementia is associated with ageing and it is caused by several factors, including genetic ones. But for a habitual drinker, alcohol-induced dementia is seen, he said.
The study was conducted in Kollam, Idukki, Palakkad, Wayanad and Kasaragod where district mental health programmes were implemented. Trained ASHA workers carried out the study from 45,886 households among 1,92,980 residents. The study found that prevalence of common mental disorders, alcohol-related disorders, dementia and cognitive impairment were common psychic disorders in the society.
“Since we used different strategies to identify probable cases and screened different age-groups, it was not easy to combine the prevalence estimates of different conditions. However, we could estimate the combined prevalence of mental health conditions like psychosis, common mental disorder, cognitive impairment and alcoholrelated problems among adults,“ said Dr Raju.
The study found that 12.43% of the adult population is affected by psychosis (0.71%), common mental disorder (9%), alcohol related-problems (1.46%), dementia and cognitive impairment (1.26%). The report added that minor mental health problems are widely prevalent and cannot be managed by a psychiatrist alone.