Alcohol dependence and anxiety disorders: what is the relationship?

1994 ◽  
Vol 151 (12) ◽  
pp. 1723-1734 ◽  
Crisis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. DeCou ◽  
Monica C. Skewes

Abstract. Background: Previous research has demonstrated an association between alcohol-related problems and suicidal ideation (SI). Aims: The present study evaluated, simultaneously, alcohol consequences and symptoms of alcohol dependence as predictors of SI after adjusting for depressive symptoms and alcohol consumption. Method: A sample of 298 Alaskan undergraduates completed survey measures, including the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire, the Short Alcohol Dependence Data Questionnaire, and the Beck Depression Inventory – II. The association between alcohol problems and SI status was evaluated using sequential logistic regression. Results: Symptoms of alcohol dependence (OR = 1.88, p < .05), but not alcohol-related consequences (OR = 1.01, p = .95), emerged as an independent predictor of SI status above and beyond depressive symptoms (OR = 2.39, p < .001) and alcohol consumption (OR = 1.08, p = .39). Conclusion: Alcohol dependence symptoms represented a unique risk for SI relative to alcohol-related consequences and alcohol consumption. Future research should examine the causal mechanism behind the relationship between alcohol dependence and suicidality among university students. Assessing the presence of dependence symptoms may improve the accuracy of identifying students at risk of SI.


2019 ◽  
Vol 94 ◽  
pp. 152116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Vigne ◽  
Bruno F.T. Simões ◽  
Gabriela B. de Menezes ◽  
Pedro P. Fortes ◽  
Rafaela V. Dias ◽  
...  

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 773-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. R. MERIKANGAS ◽  
D. E. STEVENS ◽  
B. FENTON ◽  
M. STOLAR ◽  
S. O'MALLEY ◽  
...  

Background. This study examined the patterns of familial aggregation and co-morbidity of alcoholism and anxiety disorders in the relatives of 165 probands selected for alcoholism and/or anxiety disorders compared to those of 61 unaffected controls.Methods. Probands were either selected from treatment settings or at random from the community. DSM-III-R diagnoses were obtained for all probands and their 1053 first-degree relatives, based on direct interview or family history information.Results. The findings indicate that: (1) alcoholism was associated with anxiety disorders in the relatives, particularly among females; (2) both alcoholism and anxiety disorders were highly familial; (3) the familial aggregation of alcoholism was attributable to alcohol dependence rather than to alcohol abuse, particularly among male relatives; and (4) the pattern of co-aggregation of alcohol dependence and anxiety disorders in families differed according to the subtype of anxiety disorder; there was evidence of a partly shared diathesis underlying panic and alcoholism, whereas social phobia and alcoholism tended to aggregate independently.Conclusions. The finding that the onset of social phobia tended to precede that of alcoholism, when taken together with the independence of familial aggregation of social phobia and alcoholism support a self-medication hypothesis as the explanation for the co-occurrence of social phobia and alcoholism. In contrast, the lack of a systematic pattern in the order of onset of panic and alcoholism among subjects with both disorders as well as evidence for shared underlying familial risk factors suggests that co-morbidity between panic disorder and alcoholism is not a consequence of self-medication of panic symptoms. The results of this study emphasize the importance of examining co-morbid disorders and subtypes thereof in identifying sources of heterogeneity in the pathogenesis of alcoholism.


2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice A. Blalock ◽  
Cho Lam ◽  
Jennifer A. Minnix ◽  
Maher Karam-Hage ◽  
Ellen R. Gritz ◽  
...  

Smoking is highly prevalent in individuals with psychiatric disorders. The relationship between smoking and anxiety disorders has received less attention than that of depression and substance use disorders, despite the fact that anxiety disorders are the most common of mental illnesses across the globe. In this study, we investigated the relationship between psychiatric disorders, including anxiety, depression, alcohol abuse, and comorbid combinations of these primary Axis I disorders and smoking cessation, in a cohort of 1,425 cancer patients who were participating in a smoking cessation clinical program. Patients were followed prospectively and assessed for abstinence status at the end of treatment and at 6-month posttreatment. Treatment involved six to eight behavioral smoking cessation counseling sessions over a 12- to 16-week period, and up to 12 weeks of smoking cessation pharmacotherapy. We hypothesized that patients with current anxiety disorders as well as other psychiatric disorders would have lower smoking cessation rates than those with no psychiatric disorders. There were no differences in abstinence rates between patients with anxiety disorders and those with no psychiatric disorders at end of treatment or 6 months. Patients with major depression or alcohol abuse had lower cessation rates than patients with no psychiatric disorders at 6 months. Findings suggest that both major depression and alcohol abuse may adversely affect treatment outcome in cancer patients. However, these findings should be considered within the limitations of observational studies that involve comparisons between nonrandomly assigned groups.


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