Rehabilitation of persons with primary organic mental disorders complicated by alcoholism in middle and elderly age

Objective. To assess the effectiveness of the rehabilitation program for persons with primary organic mental disorders complicated by alcoholism in middle and elderly age. Material and methods. The study included male patients aged 67.5±7.2 years divided into two groups. Group 1 included 49 patients (59%), and group 2 included 34 (41%) of subjects with the symptoms of primary organic mental disorders that occurred in childhood, compensated in high school, and relapsed at the age of 38.2±2.0 and 46.5±2.2 years, respectively, and alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) diagnosed at the age of 53.8±1.2 and 66.8±0.9 years, respectively. The following methods were used: questionnaire — social interview; clinical (medical history, follow-up, information from children’s outpatient records of patients); assessment of mental status using various scales (quantified scale for assessing the severity of psychopathological disorders, clinical scale for assessing pathological alcohol craving [PAC], anosognosia scale, “Questionnaire for Assessing the Quality of Remission in Remote and Hard-to-Reach Regions” during the remission); prospective observation; statistical methods (parametric, non-parametric). Results. In patients of group 1, after 6 months of rehabilitation, the severity (p<0.05) of the emotional and autonomic component of PAC, depression, anxiety, and mild to moderate dysphoria decreased; after 12 months, the manifestations of psychopathy-like syndrome and the autonomic component were reduced, and the rest of the studied indicators were non-significant. In patients of group 2, after 6 months of a rehabilitation program, the severity of the emotional component of PAC, anxiety, dysphoria, and asthenia decreased (p<0.05) from moderate to mild; after 12 months, the manifestations of the emotional and ideational component of PAC, anxiety, and asthenia remained non-significant, and the other symptoms of psychopathological disorders were reduced. Conclusion. The proposed step-by-step differentiated rehabilitation and preventive care program has helped many patients achieve remission of medium and high quality with a decrease in PAC to a non-significant grade. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.