Epidemiology of alcohol dependence in UK primary care: Results from a large observational study using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink.

ABSTRACT: This study aims to investigate the incidence and annual presentation rates of alcohol dependence in general practice in the UK, and examine age-, gender-, socioeconomic-, and region-specific variation. We conducted a retrospective 'open' cohort study using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), an anonymised primary care database. Prior to data extraction, a case definition for alcohol dependence in CPRD was established using 47 Read codes, which included primary alcohol dependence and consequences of alcohol dependence. Directly standardised rates for incidence and annual presentation were calculated for each year between 1990 and 2013. Rates were compared by gender, age, UK home nation, and practice-level Index of Multiple Deprivation. The directly standardised annual incidence

SUBMITTER: Thompson A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5376077 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature