The Extent of Long-Term Moderate Drinking among Alcoholics Discharged from Medical and Psychiatric Treatment Facilities

Abstract

To assess the frequency of an evolution to stable moderate drinking among alcoholics coming to medical or psychiatric treatment facilities, we examined the five- to seven-year outcome for 1289 diagnosed alcoholics treated in our facilities during a two-year period (between 1973 and 1975). We obtained data from personal interviews, records, or both for 83 per cent of the sample. Only 1.6 per cent of the subjects met our definition of stable moderate drinking at follow-up, 15 per cent had become totally abstinent, and 4.6 per cent were mostly abstinent with occasional drinking. The only predictors of moderate drinking that we found were female sex and less severe alcoholism. The evolution to stable moderate drinking appears to be a rare outcome among alcoholics treated at medical or psychiatric facilities. (N Engl J Med 1985; 312:1678–82.)