Alcohol abuse by children and adolescents as a cause of hospitalisation at the paediatric department
Journal Title: Postępy Nauk Medycznych - Year 2011, Vol 24, Issue 12
Abstract
<b>Introduction.</b> In recent years a growing number of cases of alcohol abuse by children and adolescents is observed. There are also more cases of intoxications which require hospitalization. However, exact data on the scale of the problem is not available.<br><b>Aim of the study. </b>1. To assess the extent of the phenomenon of alcohol abuse by children. 2. To identify the disorders responsible for the clinical course of alcohol intoxication in children. 3. To identify the factors which factors which contribute to the consumption of alcohol in children. <br><b>Material and methods.</b> The study was carried out on 87 children (47 girls and 40 boys), hospitalized due to alcohol abuse at the Clinical Pediatrics Ward of the Bielański Hospital in Warsaw in the period between 1999 and 2008. The children’s age ranged between 5 and 18 (average 15). The majority, 62 (71%) were 13 to 16 years old. At their admission, their consciousness disorders, metabolic parameters and the concentration of ethanol were assessed. Also, data was collected on the socio-economic status of the family, earlier alcohol consumption, its type, the way it was obtained, the place of consumption and the participation of other persons. Psychological tests assessed the intelligence and balance of the intellectual development, personality, as well as the child’s place and role in the family. <br><b>Results. </b>In 17 (20%) children a state of a severe poisoning was diagnosed, which not always correlated with the concentration of alcohol in blood (from 1.3 to 3.52 pro mille). The majority of them did not require intensive treatment and stayed up to 4 days under observation at the hospital. In 54 (62%) children it was the first incident of alcohol abuse. The children most often consumer the alcohol with their peers, outside their home. None of them reported any difficulty in obtaining alcoholic beverages. The alcohol-abusing children came mostly from two-parent families (55%), with two or more children (53%). In 17 families occurred cases of alcoholism in parents or grandparents. In 15 (32%) children the IQ was high. In 13 (28%) emotional immaturity was observed, and in 9 (19%), an unbalanced intellectual development. No correlation was found between the children’s alcohol consumption and the socioeconomic status of their families or their parents’ education.
Authors and Affiliations
Piotr Hartmann, Teresa Jackowska, Monika Grzelczyk-Wielgórska, Róża Słowikowska, Jacek Grygalewicz
Keywords
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