Clinical relevance of the distinction between alcohol dependence with and without a physiological component

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_1683FE8B0A63
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Title
Clinical relevance of the distinction between alcohol dependence with and without a physiological component
Journal
American Journal of Psychiatry
Author(s)
Schuckit  M. A., Smith  T. L., Daeppen  J. B., Eng  M., Li  T. K., Hesselbrock  V. M., Nurnberger, J. I., Jr. , Bucholz  K. K.
ISSN
0002-953X (Print)
Publication state
Published
Issued date
06/1998
Volume
155
Number
6
Pages
733-740
Notes
Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S. --- Old month value: Jun
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: DSM-IV indicates that diagnoses of substance dependence should be further characterized with regard to the presence of a physiological component, defined by tolerance or withdrawal. This study evaluated the possible meaning of this distinction in alcohol-dependent men and women. METHOD: As part of the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism, structured interviews were carried out with 3,395 DSM-III-R-defined alcohol-dependent individuals divided into 2,949 subjects (86.9%) with evidence of tolerance and/or withdrawal (group 1), 51.3% of whom evidenced withdrawal symptoms, and 446 subjects (13.1%) without a physiological component (group 2). Data were evaluated to determine differences between the two groups. RESULTS: Group 1 reported greater severity of alcohol dependence as demonstrated by a larger maximum number of drinks in 24 hours, more persons reporting binges, more alcohol-related life problems, more relevant DSM-III-R criteria endorsed, more physiological complications, and more alcohol-related emotional/psychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety. Each of these severity indicators for problems in group 1 was significant in the presence of the others in a logistic regression, and similar items remained significant when tolerance alone, withdrawal alone, or their combination was used as the criterion for group 1 membership; however, for withdrawal a larger proportion of the variance was explained by the predictor variables. The regression results were independent of gender, proband status, and history of antisocial personality disorder. CONCLUSIONS: The results support the clinical relevance of distinguishing between alcohol-dependent patients with and without a physiological component. The data indicate a potential advantage to limiting that definition to withdrawal only.
Keywords
Adult Alcohol Drinking/psychology Alcohol-Related Disorders/*diagnosis/epidemiology/physiopathology Alcoholic Beverages Alcoholism/*diagnosis/epidemiology/physiopathology Comorbidity Diagnosis, Differential Drug Tolerance Ethanol/adverse effects Female Health Status Humans Male Mental Disorders/diagnosis/epidemiology Severity of Illness Index Substance Withdrawal Syndrome/*diagnosis/epidemiology/physiopathology Terminology
Pubmed
Web of science
Create date
25/01/2008 17:13
Last modification date
20/08/2019 12:46
Usage data