Non-adherence in alcoholics is one of the major problems of contemporary Russian psychiatry.

To investigate the prevalence and structure of non-adherence in Russian men alcoholics receiving treatment in psychiatric hospital.

Forty five men(mean age 39.5 yrs) with alcoholism were randomly selected from narcology department and week after the last alcohol use enrolled in the subsequent survey including questionnaires on knowledge about the disease on treatment and health behavior. Patients with neurological deficit and any another psychiatric disorders in anamnesis were excluded.

We have shown that only 4% of patients demonstrated adherence to treatment. 93% felt significant deterioration in physical well-being in the last 2–5 years, only 83% attributed it to alcohol use and only 67% were agree with diagnosis. The remaining 29% denied the alcohol dependence, but recognized the need for detoxification and general medical examination to improve the physical well-being. 96% thought unnecessary to work with a psychologist or a therapist or referral to a rehabilitation center or opioid receptor antagonist in spite of repeated failures of self-termination of drinking. They attributed this to the low efficiency of these methods and their high cost or absence problems and diseases.

Non-adherence is very prevalent in Russian men alcoholics. Severe non-adherence to treatment including illness denials is observed in 29% of patients. Non-adherence to treatment including most part of proposed methods is observed in 67%.