Alcohol Problems among Female Gonorrhoea Patients

Alcohol problems among female gonorrhoea patients. Medhus, A. and Hansson, H. (Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Lund and Department of Dermatology, Malmö General Hospital, University of Lund, Sweden).

The proband group consists of the 286 women who, in 1960, were treated for gonorrhoea in the Out-patient Clinic for Venereological Diseases in Malmö. During the years 1932 to 1973, they were responsible for 119 convictions for drunkenness, the expected number of convictions being 4, as calculated from an age-and calendar year specific risk table for Swedish women. The difference between numbers observed and those expected increased with age. Of the 82 patients aged 25 years or over in 1960, one in ten had previously been convicted for drunkenness, and one in seven, 13 years later. During the years 1939 to 1973, 12 gonorrhoea patients were subjected to compulsory treatment by the Temperance Boards. Of the patients aged 25 years or over in 1960, one in twenty had earlier been subjected to such treatment, and one in ten, 13 years later. It is concluded that gonorrhoeal infections, particularly in women 25 years and over, can constitute a “symptom” of alcohol problems.