Does the Association Between Alcohol Consumption and Depression Depend on How They Are Measured?

Abstract

The results of the present study suggest that measurement and gender are key issues in interpreting findings on the relationship between alcohol and depression. First, depression is primarily related to drinking larger quantities per occasion, less related to volume, and unrelated to drinking frequency, and this effect is stronger for women than for men. Second, the overall relationship between depression and alcohol consumption is stronger for women than for men only when depression is measured as meeting a clinical diagnosis of major depression and not when measured as recent depressed affect. Finally, while there was some evidence that former drinkers had slightly higher rates of major depression and higher scores on recent depressed affect compared with light drinkers, there was no evidence that light drinking was protective for major depression when compared with lifetime abstainers, although light drinkers did report fewer recent symptoms of depressed affect.

Survey of alcohol-related presentations to Australasian emergency departments

“…A meta-analysis found that a higher proportion of people diagnosed with alcohol dependence also suffers comorbid mental health conditions than people who suffer a mental health condition and are also alcohol-dependent (Jane-Lopis & Matytsina 2006). In a population-based survey, Graham et al (2007) found no data to support the notion that light to moderate drinking (defined by low frequency or low volume) protects against major depression.…”

“…This may in part be due to the manner in which both consumption and depression are measured (Graham et al 2007). In a longitudinal study, Haynes et al (2005) found that excessive alcohol consumption was not associated with the onset of anxiety and depression, but that abstinence was associated with lower depressive risks.…”

Associations between emotional distress and heavy drinking among young people: A longitudinal study

“…A cohort of young people was assessed in 1992 (T1), 1994 (T2), 1999 (T3) and 2005 (T4). The T1 survey comprised students attending junior high school (grades 8-10) and senior high school (grades [11][12][13], and the sample was selected to yield a national representative cross-section of this student population (response rate: 97%). At T2, students who were still in their original school filled in questionnaires in the classroom -as they did at T1.…”

“…Obviously, such research may be of clinical significance, yet the findings do not necessarily apply to mild forms of emotional distress and non-pathological drinking [13]. To address subclinical conditions is important in its own right, not least because they may contribute to the total burden of harm and social cost at least as much as the clinical ones -simply by being far more prevalent.…”

Epidemiology of Alcohol Use Disorders among Psychiatric Patients in a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria

“…It has been validated for use in alcohol related studies both in the developed world and in Nigeria and a score of 5 is considered a good cut off point to indicate the presence of AUD in a patient [14][15][16][17]. The Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) is a questionnaire comprising 21 items [18].…”