Alcohol consumption trends in various social strata

Background: alcoholism is a type of addictive illness,causing both physical and psychological dependence. it is a major social,economical and health problem. aim: to find out the relationship between age and socioeconomic status. methods: the study population included 60 individuals of different age group with different socioeconomic state. they participated in cross-sectional surveys on drinking habits in a period of 2010 to 2015 with age range of 18-50years. victims included in the study were taken from the emergency department of sir ganga ram hospital lahore. results: among these 60 victims,all were males. 70% of victims were between the ages of 18 and 35 years,while 30% victims were between the ages of 36-50 year. it was observed that 47.6% victims belonged to se (socioeconomic) class a,33.3% belonged to se class b and 55.5% belonged to se class c with age group 18-25 year. on the other hand 14.2% victims belonged to se class a,66.6% belonged to se class b and 33.3% belonged to se class c with age group 26-35 year. among age group 36-50 years,38.1% victims belonged to se class a,38.1% belonged to se class b and 11.1% belonged to se class c. the clinical signs noted included alcoholic smell from the mouth in 100%; slurred speech in 83.3%; congested eyes in 98.3% and 80% had gait changes. conclusion: it is therefore concluded that unlike other studies we found that middle class with age group 26-35 years are heavy drinkers as compared to other age groups and socioeconomic classes. the reason of this excess consumption of alcohol is most likely due to anxiety and distress due to family matters.