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Alcohol Dependence and Psychopathology in Alcoholic Liver Disease
Author(s) -
EWUSIMENSAH ISAAC,
SAUNDERS JOHN B.,
JOHNSON RICHARD D.,
WILLIAMS ROGER
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
british journal of addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0952-0481
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1986.tb00321.x
Subject(s) - psychopathology , alcohol dependence , abstinence , alcoholic liver disease , psychiatry , psychology , alcohol , clinical psychology , medicine , cirrhosis , biochemistry , chemistry
Summary The relationship between alcohol dependence and psychopathology in patients with alcoholic liver disease was studied, using an alcohol‐dependence screening questionnaire and a structured psychiatric interview schedule. Patients with evidence of psychopathology scored significantly higher on the alcohol dependence questionnaire than those without (median scores 14 versus 9; p<.05). The degree of alcohol dependence was more severe in males than females (median scores 16 versus 8; p<.005). Patients with more than one type of psychopathology were more likely to become dependent on alcohol than those with only a single disorder (median scores 35 versus 9; p<.01. As a therapeutic goal, abstinence alone may often be enough to lead to substantial improvement in liver function in these patients, but this goal cannot be easily attained unless the underlying psychopathology is also identified and treated.