Alcohol-induced mental disorders

Introduction to alcohol-induced mental disorders Alcohol is a neurotropic substance. A relatively large amount of alcohol can cause mental disorders. If you drink it for a long time, it can cause various mental disorders, including dependence, withdrawal syndrome and psychotic symptoms. In addition to mental disorders, symptoms and signs of physical damage often occur. People with impaired personality are more likely to suffer from mental disorders. And some personality disorders are closely related to specific mental disorders. Comprehensive treatments are often used for the treatment of mental disorders caused by alcohol, especially chronic alcoholism, and the basic steps are relatively close in most countries of the world. Spitting is a key step in the success of treatment. Alcoholics should generally be treated under hospital conditions to cut off the source of alcohol. Clinically, the progress of alcohol withdrawal should be flexibly controlled according to the severity of the patient's alcohol dependence and poisoning. The lighter can try to take a one-time withdrawal, while the patients with serious alcohol dependence should use the decreasing method to gradually stop drinking to avoid serious withdrawal symptoms. It is life-threatening. basic knowledge Sickness ratio: 0.05% Susceptible people: no specific population Mode of infection: non-infectious Complications: Dementia Schizophrenia

Causes of alcohol-induced mental disorders

Mental factors (40%):

Studies on alcohol poisoning probands have found that other mental disorders often coexist with alcoholism. Some surveys show that nearly 80% of alcoholism patients have at least one other mental disorder at the same time, with depression, anxiety and antisocial personality disorder. Commonly, patients with alcoholism often have depression and anxiety, or antisocial behavior. On the contrary, patients with depression or antisocial personality disorder often drink a lot of alcohol. These results suggest that alcohol-induced mental disorders and other mental disorders Relationships are difficult to determine and may be causal.

Genetic factors (20%):

The survey data confirmed that the family aggregation of alcoholism is very obvious. The risk of alcoholism among children of alcoholics is 3-4 times higher than that of normal control children. The more serious the alcohol poisoning of parents, the more risk their children suffer from the same disease. Large, Nordic countries twin studies have shown that the same rate of chronic egg poisoning in single-oval twins is 58%, while twins are only about 28%. The foster child survey found that the son of a alcoholic patient grows up with the same disease. The proportion is 22% to 28%, which is 3 to 4 times that of non-poisoned children who are also fostered elsewhere. In addition, the results of neuropsychologists suggest that the sons of alcoholics have characteristic neuropsychological defects, such as Impulsiveness, overconfidence, excessive activity, and poor ability to avoid harm, these characteristics are genetically affected, making the son of alcoholics easy to develop into alcoholism.

Social factors (10%):

Previous studies have suggested that social, family, and economic problems are closely related to alcohol-induced mental disorders. Many patients have attempted to relieve tension and anxiety caused by stress by drinking alcohol, thus promoting the continuous strengthening of drinking behavior. Social and cultural factors are related to the occurrence of mental disorders caused by alcohol. The prevalence of chronic alcoholism in North America and most European countries is much higher than that in China, Japan and Israel. In many minority areas where chronic alcoholism is high in China, It also has its own drinking culture and customs. According to the survey, the prevalence of chronic alcoholism among people living in cold and humid areas for a long time and those engaged in heavy physical labor is also high. In addition, the rapid increase in wine production and the corresponding wine promotion It is also a social factor that cannot be ignored.

Alcohol-induced mental disorder prevention

health education

(1) Strengthen health propaganda, drink alcohol, do not persuade alcohol, do not drink alcohol, do not drink on an empty stomach, do not drink alcohol, and avoid alcohol addiction caused by alcohol.

(2) Strictly implement the drug administration law, strengthen drug management and prescription monitoring, strictly control the clinical application of addictive drugs, strictly enforce the law of minors, and control the drinking of minors.

(3) Control the illegal demand for addictive drugs, combat illegal cultivation and drug trafficking, promote the production of low-alcohol, fruit wine, reduce the production of spirits, and crack down on illegal alcohol production.

(4) Strengthen psychological counseling and health education, and focus on strengthening the promotion and management of high-risk groups.

Alcohol-induced complications of mental disorders Complications dementia schizophrenia

1. Korsakov Psychosis: Also known as Coxakov syndrome, most patients develop after one or more tremors, but also slowly start on the basis of drinking for 10 years and lack of nutrition. The clinical features are prominent near-memory defects, difficult to learn new knowledge, often fictional and mis-constructive, patients unintentionally fabricate experiences and plots or distant events to fill the gaps in memory.

2, alcoholic toxic dementia: due to prolonged drinking and repeated tremors, can gradually develop into dementia state, showing a variety of high-grade cortical functions, such as memory, thinking, understanding, calculation, orientation and language function damage . Severe people often affect daily life and cannot take care of themselves. Personality changes are also very significant, patients become selfish, loss of control, rude behavior and cruelty.

Symptoms of alcohol-induced mental disorders Common symptoms Suffered delusions Alcohol toxic hallucinations Alcohol dependence Alone drunk Alcoholic hallucinations Laughing spirits Sports excitement Pathological drunkenness Complex drunkenness

1. Simple drunkenness Simple drunkenness, also known as general drunkenness, is an acute poisoning caused by a large amount of drinking. The severity of clinical symptoms is related to the blood alcohol content and alcohol metabolism rate of the patient. In the early days of drunkenness, the drunkards The self-control ability is diminished, the words are increased, the content is exaggerated, the emotions are excited, and there is joy that is not in harmony with the environment. However, the emotional cranial instability is characterized by irritability and venting, and the movements are also increased when drunk, and the behavior becomes Flirty, often provocative, and sometimes irrespective of the consequences, clinically, some drunken people are depressed, less words, sorrowful, or sleepy. At the same time, most drunks are unclear and helpless. Disorder, gait instability, accompanied by increased heart rate, decreased blood pressure, facial and body skin flushing, sometimes nausea or vomiting, or further progression of drunkenness, resulting in disturbances of consciousness, such as decreased clarity of consciousness and/or narrow range of consciousness And even sleepiness, sleep, and even coma, in addition to severe cases, generally recover naturally, and no aftereffects.

2. pathological drunkenness (pathological drunkenness) This is a psychiatric seizure caused by a small amount of drinking. After the patient drinks alcohol, there is a sudden environmental awareness and self-consciousness disorder, accompanied by a piece of terror illusion and victim delusion, clinically expressed as height. Excited, extremely nervous and frightened, under the control of illusion delusions, patients often suddenly become aggressive, often violent, such as destruction, self-injury or attacking others, etc. The drunken state usually lasts for a few minutes, a few hours or even a whole Days, the patient ends with a state of drowsiness. After waking, the patient cannot recall the episode. Unlike drunkenness, pathological drunk patients have no increased speech, euphoria and obvious toxic neurological symptoms. Alcohol is extremely tolerant, and the amount of alcohol consumed is not poisoned by most people. In addition, excessive fatigue or long-term severe insomnia may sometimes contribute to pathological drunkenness.

3. Complex drunkenness patients generally have a history of brain organic disease, or have physical diseases that affect alcohol metabolism, such as epilepsy, cerebrovascular disease, craniocerebral trauma, encephalitis and liver disease, etc. The patient's sensitivity to alcohol is increased. After a small amount of alcohol consumption, acute poisoning reaction occurs, and obvious disturbance of consciousness occurs. It is often accompanied by illusion. The hallucinations are stunned, and there are significant emotional excitement, irritability, and aggressive and sabotage. See, occasionally, no purpose repetitive and profit-making action, such episodes usually last for several hours, after the relief, the patient is partially or completely forgotten.

Examination of mental disorders caused by alcohol

On the background of high emotions, there is an increase in thinking and volition and will activity. In the case of depressive episodes, on the background of low emotions, accompanied by slow thinking and decreased will activities. Most patients' thinking and action abnormalities are coordinated with high or low moods. Manic episodes are often accompanied by increased appetite, hypersexuality, and decreased sleep requirements. When depressive episodes occur, physical symptoms are more common. If there is early wakefulness, loss of appetite, weight loss, loss of libido, and depression, the mood is heavy. The rhythm changes to help diagnose.

Diagnosis and diagnosis of mental disorders caused by alcohol

diagnosis

The main basis for diagnosing alcohol-induced mental disorders is a defined history of drinking and a good reason to conclude that the patient's mental symptoms are directly caused by alcohol or withdrawal. Acute alcoholism is closely related to the amount of alcohol consumed, and it often occurs sharply after a large amount of drinking. However, on the basis of certain brain factors, a small amount of alcohol can produce a severe acute poisoning reaction that does not match the amount of alcohol consumed. Chronic alcoholism is based on long-term drinking. Various clinical syndromes often appear after dependence. Sudden reduction in alcohol consumption or stop drinking can cause symptoms. In addition to psychiatric symptoms, patients with acute or chronic alcoholism have transient or persistent physical signs and symptoms and signs of toxic neurological damage.

Differential diagnosis

On the basis of mastering the diagnosis points of alcohol-induced mental disorders, it is generally not difficult to distinguish them from other mental disorders. Acute alcoholism should be excluded:

1 Some episodes of brain organic diseases, such as epilepsy, cerebrovascular accidents, etc.

2 The state of paralysis caused by physical illness.

3 Other mentally active substances cause mental disorders.

4 manic episodes of affective disorder, illusion and paranoia caused by chronic alcoholism should be distinguished from schizophrenia and paranoid mental disorder, Kosakov syndrome, alcoholic dementia should be caused by other causes Identification of cognitive decline, dementia status, and personality changes.

The material in this site is intended to be of general informational use and is not intended to constitute medical advice, probable diagnosis, or recommended treatments.