A PSYCHODEMOGRAPHIC STUDY OF THE PATIENTS OF A DEADDICTION CENTRE IN MADRAS.

Sixty patients who reported to a Deaddiction Centre were investigated with regard to their psychodemographic profile. 53.3% of them turned out to be exclusively alcohol abusers, 35% were abusers of alcohol concurrently with other substances and 11.7% were abusers of exclusively drugs. Those who consumed alcohol alone, commenced their intake at a mean age of 24.4 years and reported for treatment only at 39.2 years; this was in contrast to the mean age of 17.9 years at which alcohol use begin in those who took alcohol in combination with other substances. Further, abusers of drugs alone reported for treatment at an age of 24 years, which is quite similar to the age at which the abusers of alcohol concomitantly with other substances resorted for psychiatric help. Other than the withdrawal syndrome, the most frequently encountered psychotic condition was alcoholic hallucinosis.