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Comorbid Alcohol Dependence (comorbid + alcohol_dependence)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Psychopathology in Pregnant Drug-Dependent Women With and Without Comorbid Alcohol Dependence

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 7 2001
Donna R. Miles
Background : Individuals with comorbid alcohol and drug use disorders are at particularly high risk for a variety of problems, including other psychiatric disorders. In general, patients with comorbid alcohol and drug dependence tend to have more severe dependence problems and often have poorer treatment outcomes than individuals with single disorders. For treatment-seeking pregnant women, psychiatric comorbidity can lead to relapse and premature treatment dropout, with adverse consequences to mother and infant. Methods: Psychopathology, as measured by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory,Revised (MMPI-2), was examined in 170 pregnant women admitted to a comprehensive treatment program for cocaine or opiate dependence. Most were single (75%) and African American (80%), with a mean age of 29 years. Thirty-six met DSM-III-R criteria for both alcohol and drug dependence (alcohol positive), whereas 134 were drug dependent only (alcohol negative). Results: Alcohol-positive women had higher levels of psychopathology than alcohol-negative women, with higher scores on scales 2 (Depression), 4 (Psychopathic Deviance), 8 (Schizophrenia), and 0 (Social Introversion;p < 0.05). The mean MMPI-2 profile for alcohol-positive women was 2-4-8 (Depression-Psychopathic Deviance-Schizophrenia; all T-scores > 65), whereas alcohol-negative women had only a scale 4 increase. Conclusions: Results suggest that pregnant, drug-dependent women with comorbid alcohol dependence present for treatment with greater psychopathology and thus may require more intense interventions than pregnant, drug-dependent women without comorbid alcohol dependence. Alcohol use by pregnant women is particularly important to address in treatment, because alcohol is a known teratogen associated with mental retardation and behavioral problems. [source]

Symptom Severity, Alcohol Craving, and Age of Trauma Onset in Childhood and Adolescent Trauma Survivors with Comorbid Alcohol Dependence and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

THE AMERICAN JOURNAL ON ADDICTIONS, Issue 6 2006
Julie A. Schumacher PhD
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol dependence (AD) are frequently comorbid disorders. Given evidence that childhood traumas may be associated with broader, more severe psychological sequelae than later traumas, the present study examined whether the association between alcohol and trauma symptomatology is more pronounced among individuals with earlier trauma onsets in a sample of 42 childhood and adolescent trauma survivors diagnosed with comorbid AD-PTSD. As predicted, individuals reporting childhood traumas reported greater severity of trauma and alcohol symptoms and greater alcohol craving. These results suggest that individuals with childhood trauma histories may be particularly vulnerable to relapse following AD treatment. [source]

Gender differences in bipolar disorder: age of onset, course, comorbidity, and symptom presentation

BIPOLAR DISORDERS, Issue 2 2005
Izabela Kawa
Objective:, To determine whether men and women with bipolar disorder differ in age of onset, course of illness, number of suicide attempts, comorbidity rates and symptom presentation. Method:, Data were collected from 211 (121 women; 90 men) adults using the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies, medical records, and additional information gathered from relatives. Results:, Most gender comparisons showed no evidence of differences. Nonetheless, more men than women reported mania at the onset of bipolar I disorder. Men also had higher rates of comorbid alcohol abuse/dependence, cannabis abuse/dependence, pathological gambling and conduct disorder. Men were more likely to report ,behavioural problems' and ,being unable to hold a conversation' during mania. Women reported higher rates of comorbid eating disorders, and weight change, appetite change and middle insomnia during depression. Conclusions:, Men and women were generally similar in their symptom presentation, age of onset of bipolar disorder, and in the total number of mood episodes. However, they differed in the type of episode at onset and comorbidity patterns. [source]

Lack of Association of Alcohol Dependence and Habitual Smoking With Catechol-O-methyltransferase

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 11 2007
Tatiana Foroud
Objective:, To test whether variation in the gene encoding the enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), which catalyzes the breakdown of dopamine and other catecholamine neurotransmitters, is associated with the risk for alcohol dependence and habitual smoking. Methods:, Single nucleotide polymophisms (SNPs) were genotyped in a sample of 219 multiplex alcohol-dependent families of European American descent from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA). Family-based tests of association were performed to evaluate the evidence of association between the 18 SNPs distributed throughout COMT, including the functional Val158Met polymorphism, and the phenotypes of alcohol dependence, early onset alcohol dependence, habitual smoking, and comorbid alcohol dependence and habitual smoking. Results:, No significant, consistent evidence of association was found with alcohol dependence, early onset alcohol dependence, habitual smoking or the comorbid phenotype. There was no evidence that the functional Val158Met polymorphism, previously reported to be associated with these phenotypes, was associated with any of them. Conclusion:, Despite the substantial size of this study, we did not find evidence to support an association between alcohol dependence or habitual smoking and variation in COMT. [source]