Cognitive dysfunction in recently detoxified female alcoholics

Abstract

AbstractObjective:To assess the extent of cognitive impairment in a group of female alcoholics and to examine if any relationship was present between the degree of cognitive impairment, and the duration of alcohol dependence, impairment of liver function or associated prescribed medication abuse.Method:The subjects were thirty consecutive women in a residential alcoholism treatment programme who were assessed two weeks after detoxification. The visual reproduction subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale was used, together with four subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale: vocabulary, similarities, block design and object assembly. We examined the effect on these scales of prolonged alcohol abuse (>5 years), abnormal liver function tests and prescribed medication abuse.Results:The group showed a significant impairment on the subtests, similarities, block design and object assembly when compared with the general population mean for the WAIS-R. Analysis of sub-groups showed little statistically significantly greater impairment on cognitive testing then the remainder of the group.Conclusions:The pattern of cognitive dysfunction for the group indicated subjects had deficits in abstraction, visual spatial and visual motor reasoning similar to previous studies involving male alcoholics. The usefulness of the sub-group comparisons was limited by the small numbers involved and larger studies would help clarify the role of contributory factors in the development of cognitive dysfunction in alcoholic subjects.