The objective of the study was to investigate the incidence of risky alcohol consumption in patients admitted to medical wards, and to examine possible differences in how smoking habits and alcohol consumption are assessed and monitored by health personnel.
The study was conducted on medical wards at Southern Norway Hospital Trust in autumn 2013. Out of 998 patients who were successively admitted, 536 were included in the analysis. A questionnaire was used to survey smoking and risky alcohol consumption, and to determine whether patients could remember being asked and advised about these during their hospitalisation period.
Fifty patients (9.3%) fulfilled the criteria for risky alcohol consumption. A lower percentage reported having been asked about their drinking habits than about their smoking habits (44% versus 62%, p