Malnutrition is often associated with alcoholism. Nutri tional deficiencies found in alcoholic patients are mostly related to pro tein and B-vitamins. The purpose of this study was to determine whether pantothenic acid nutrition is altered in patients with prolonged intake of alcohol.
Urinary pantothenic acid was measured in alcoholic patients during three intervals in a 10-week rehabilitation period. Pantothenic acid excretion of alcoholic patients revealed a lower excretion in an acute phase of the disease (2.7mg/day) than reported excretion of normal individuals (3.9mg/day). Inadequate intake of nutrients may have been a contributing factor. In chronic alcoholic patients who participated in a 10-week rehabilitation program, excretion approximated intake at the beginning of the period (6.6 mg/day) and decreased to less than one half this amount (2.7mg/day) at the end of the rehabilitation. It may be speculated that alcoholic patients, in general, are unable to utilize pantothenic acid from the diet efficiently, but as they are rehabilitated, more of this vitamin is retained in the body for useful functions.