The authors compared the drinking habits of stroke patients and controls who were matched for the variables of age, sex, race, and day of the week admitted to the hospital. Rates of alcoholism were similar in the two groups. However, stroke patients were more likely to be current drinkers than controls, and were more likely to have been drinking within 24 hr of admission to the hospital, most of them rather heavily. Among the stroke patients, alcoholism was associated with hypertension, with being a current drinker, and with drinking at index, i.e., within 24 hr of the first symptoms of stroke. Of those stroke patients who were drinking at index, there were significant associations with being Mack, alcoholic, and hypertensive. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Two hundred fifty of 1289 alcoholics died within eight years of treatment of alcoholism or its complications. Gastrointestinal and cardiovascular disorders were significantly greater among the group who died within one year of treatment. Other sex, age and racial differences were also significant.