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Differences Between Treatment‐Seeking and Nontreatment‐Seeking Alcohol‐Dependent Research Participants: An Exploratory Analysis
Author(s) -
Rohn Matthew C.H.,
Lee Mary R.,
Kleuter Samuel B.,
Schwandt Melanie L.,
Falk Daniel E.,
Leggio Lorenzo
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/acer.13304
Subject(s) - clinical psychology , psychology , impulsivity , mood , aggression , psychiatry
Background Alcoholism is a chronic relapsing disorder with complex behavioral and functional heterogeneity. To date, attempts to characterize subgroups of alcohol‐dependent (AD) individuals have largely been focused on categorical distinctions based on behaviors such as ability to abstain, age of onset, and drinking motives, but these have failed to yield predictors of treatment response and disease course. The distinction between AD individuals who are or are not interested in treatment holds significant implications for interpreting results of human laboratory studies with nontreatment seekers and clinical trials with treatment‐seeking AD patients. However, despite their crucial role in alcohol‐related research, these 2 groups are poorly defined. In this exploratory analysis, we attempt to better define the phenotypic differences between these 2 experimentally relevant populations. Methods We analyzed data from AD individuals who participated in screening protocols to evaluate their suitability for participation in either treatment or nontreatment research studies at NIAAA . Scores on individual measures from a battery of behavioral, neuropsychological, and blood laboratory measures were compared between those who presented seeking treatment for AD and those who were not seeking treatment. Differences in each measure were assessed between the 2 groups. In addition, we explored whether significant differences were apparent when drinking behavior was used as a covariate. Results Treatment seekers manifested more impairment compared to nontreatment seekers on a wide variety of measures in the following categories: alcohol drinking, personality, impulsivity, trauma/stress, cognition, aggression, mood, and liver enzyme tests. Treatment seekers endorsed a greater number of AD criteria. Several measures including elevations in liver enzyme tests remained significantly different between the 2 groups when average daily alcohol consumption per drinking day was used as a covariate. Conclusions Treatment‐seeking, compared to nontreatment‐seeking AD subjects who present for alcohol‐related research studies, differ in characteristics beyond the quantity of alcohol consumption. Implications of these differences with respect to clinical research for treatments of AD are discussed.