The course of alcohol amnestic disorder: a three-year follow-up study of clinical signs and social disabilities.

Forty-four patients with alcohol amnestic disorder were prospectively studied from 1987 to 1990. The cognitive impairment, social disability and mental symptoms of patients under different conditions were compared. Thirty-three patients (75%) had no symptoms of Wernicke's disease nor a medical history to suggest its existence. The course of mean cognitive impairment of patients in different settings was stable. Change in intelligence quotient correlated with alcohol consumption during the study. The development of social disability differed remarkably in different settings. Patients in a large nursing home deteriorated and patients in small-scale sheltered accommodation improved.