Food Consumption Behaviors and Nutrition Status of Alcohol-Dependent Patients in Suanprung Psychiatric Hospital

Abstract

Malnutrition is a problem found in patients with alcoholism. The impact of malnutrition affects the health and illness of patients in many ways, such as the body becoming easily fatigued, increased risk of infections, prolonged hospital stays, etc. Severe malnutrition can even lead to death. This cross-sectional research aimed to investigate food consumption behaviors, assess the nutritional status, and explore the relationship between these two aspects among alcohol-dependent patients. The study was conducted on 225 alcohol-dependent inpatients at Suanprung Psychiatric Hospital, selected using accidental sampling from August 2022 to January 2023. Data collection methods included a demographic questionnaire, an alcohol consumption questionnaire, a food consumption behaviors questionnaire, and the Nutrition Alert Form for nutritional assessment. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, tested the difference of mean scores using T-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and tested the correlation using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation. The findings revealed that all inpatients demonstrated moderate food consumption behaviors. Remarkably, 86.7% of these patients had normal to mild malnutrition, while the remaining 13.3% displayed signs of moderate malnutrition. Furthermore, there was a significant negative correlation between food consumption behaviors and the severity of malnutrition (r=-0.745, p<.05). These results highlight the vulnerability of alcohol-dependent patients to malnutrition. Healthcare professionals can leverage these insights to improve the nutritional well-being of such patients by addressing and modifying their food consumption behaviors.