Hospitalizations Involving Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome Common

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome can be as common as complications of other chronic conditions

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Oct. 10, 2024 (HealthDay News) — In U.S. adults, hospitalizations involving alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) are common, according to a study published online Oct. 8 in JAMA Network Open.

Tessa L. Steel, M.D., M.P.H., from University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues evaluated the incidence and proportional incidence of hospitalizations involving AWS in an adult primary care population overall and across patient characteristics. The analysis included electronic health records and insurance claims from Kaiser Permanente Washington (544,825 adults; July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2022).

The researchers found that the incidence of hospitalizations involving AWS was 169 per 100,000 person-enrolled years overall but as high as 15,347 in patients with other alcohol-attributable diagnoses. Overall, the proportional incidence of hospitalizations involving AWS was 2.3 percent, with variation by age, sex, and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) scores (e.g., 9 to 11 percent in male patients aged 30 to 49 years and 23 to 44 percent in patients with high-risk AUDIT-C scores [7 to 12 points]). Among adults younger than 60 years, the proportional incidence of hospitalizations involving AWS matched or surpassed that of other common chronic conditions (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, heart failure, and hypertension).

“Alcohol withdrawal syndrome is common during hospitalizations, highlighting opportunities for health system interventions to improve prevention and treatment of alcohol use disorder and its consequences,” the authors write.