Sex differences in alcohol-related disease at a county hospital.

A retrospective study of alcohol-related disease at a county hospital is reported. Fifteen percent of patients had an alcohol-related primary diagnosis, and 38% were found to have at least one alcohol-related diagnosis. Women made up 19% of the patients with all alcohol-related diagnoses, but they constituted 35% of those with cirrhosis of the liver and 50% of the patients with hepatic encephalopathy and hepatic failure. Only 6% of the patients diagnosed as having alcohol withdrawal syndrome were women.