The Gersois “champions” of visits to the emergency room after consuming alcohol

While the period of holidays and festivals has begun with a bang in the Gers, this is a report which should encourage moderation and humility. For the year 2023, our department appears in first position at the national level regarding visits to emergency rooms directly linked to alcohol consumption, according to a recent study by Public Health France.

The figures speak for themselves, whatever the gender concerned. Among men, the rate of visits to the emergency room directly linked to alcohol consumption amounts to 1.73%, compared to a national average of 1.52% and a regional average of 0.94%. Among women, this rate falls to 0.91% (national average of 0.60% and regional average of 0.47%) but has seen strong growth in recent years. Enough to call out the health authorities. “We suspect that we have a score that is not good at all,” recognizes Didier-Pier Florentin, departmental director of the Regional Health Agency.

“It’s in the 18-45 age group that we consume the most”

If a notable difference exists between the sexes, the risk is not the same depending on age. The study thus reveals a significantly higher proportion of occasional heavy drinking (API) among young people nationally (21.5% of 18-30 year olds are affected compared to 10.5% of 61.75 year olds). Regarding the link between consumption and hospitalization, acute alcoholic intoxication is the most represented pathology among the different pathologies that can be identified as directly linked to alcohol. “If there is a trip to the emergency room, it is because there is an accident at home or on the public highway,” adds Didier-Pier Florentin, who mentions in particular road accidents linked to alcohol.

Beyond a consumption which can sometimes resemble an initiation rite among young people, the practice of “binge-drinking” (or API) has become widespread in recent years. A phenomenon that we find particularly during parties and festivals, where alcohol often flows freely.

For Didier-Pier Florentin, these festivities specific to Gers as well as other regions of France (Landes and Brittany among others) are however not enough to justify habits visibly anchored within the population. “It is in the 18-45 age group that we consume the most, excluding festive events such as bandas, and with associations of other consumptions, he specifies. Hospitalization periods are short: less 3 days on average, some in intensive care, but 1/4 of patients are discharged without hospitalization.”

Aware of the problem, the departmental director of the ARS recalls the efforts made by the authorities to raise awareness among the population ahead of holidays and festivals. “The prevention work that we are doing at Pentecôtavic and at Bandas in Condom is starting to bear fruit, because we have fewer situations of severe alcoholism than in previous years.”

It remains to continue this prevention work everywhere on the ground, outside of the festivities, and in particular among young people. “There are prevention operations to be carried out through local health contracts with the Territorial Professional Health Communities (CPTS) of the territory to be able to understand the problem a little more. There is work to be done at all ages “, concludes Didier-Pier Florentin.