Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol 2, Issue 3 215-220, Copyright © 1983 by American College of Nutrition

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Nutritional status of alcoholics of different socioeconomic class

R. H. Goldsmith, F. L. Iber and P. A. Miller

Most studies concerning the nutritional status of alcoholics have focused on the indigent alcoholic but programs now increasingly consider the working patient. The role of socioeconomic status in determining nutritional status of the alcoholic is further clarified in this study. One hundred patients from an alcoholic population were studied, 50 with low socioeconomic status and 50 with middle or higher socioeconomic status. The nutritional status of these two different socioeconomic groups was examined and compared. The middle-income alcoholic had significantly higher values in weight to height index (P less than .02), the triceps skinfold (P less than .01), the midarm muscle circumference (P less than .05), hematocrit (P less than .01), and epilation force (P less than .001) than the lower-income alcoholic group. Hair-pulling tension was compared in both groups as an index of protein malnutrition. There was a highly significant difference in the two groups.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				V. Koehn, B. Burnand, M. Niquille, F. Paccaud, P. Magnenat, and B. Yersin Prevalence of Malnutrition in Alcoholic and Nonalcoholic Medical Inpatients: A Comparative Anthropometric Study JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr, January 1, 1993; 17(1): 35 - 40. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. Marsano and C. J. Mcclain Review: Nutrition and Alcoholic Liver Disease JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr, May 1, 1991; 15(3): 337 - 344. [Abstract] [PDF]