ONE in four people admitted to intensive care units in Scotland has an alcohol problem, research shows.

The study of 771 patients who were kept in 24 intensive care wards across the country discovered that one-quarter of admissions were blamed on alcohol, with particular problems among men and younger people.

The majority of those who have drink problems have chronic alcohol disease, according to the researchers, who estimated the annual cost of alcohol-related admissions to Scotland's intensive care units at just under £9 million.

Co-author Dr Timothy Geary, anaesthetic registrar at the Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow, said: "Alcohol disease adversely affects the outcome of critically ill patients and the burden of this in Scotland is higher than elsewhere in the UK.

"Patients with alcohol problems tended to be significantly younger and admissions from deprived areas of the country were also more likely to be alcohol related. Patients with alcohol problems also needed to be mechanically ventilated for longer.

"The major strength of our study is that it was performed across an entire country's healthcare system over one month, in contrast to previous single centre studies. This has enabled us to estimate the annual cost of alcohol-related admissions, based on the daily cost of an intensive care bed, at just under £9m."

The research is being published by Anaesthesia.