NCJ Number
196077
Journal
Addiction Volume: 97 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2002 Pages: 29-38
Date Published
January 2002
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article discusses a study of the interaction between depression, rate of alcohol consumption, and mortality.
Abstract
The authors studied the relationship between depression and alcohol-related mortality in the United States. Other variables that influenced the impact of alcohol consumption on mortality included: gender, ethnicity, marital status, income, smoking, age, and drinking patterns (heavy drinking occurrence rates). Study data were provided by the 1984 National Alcohol Survey (NAS). The authors selected data from 5,093 of the NAS respondents who provided information on both alcohol consumption and depression. This information was then compared against the National Death Index (NDI). Mortality risk was approximated through the Cox (1972) proportional hazards model. The authors also reviewed the data for conformity with the J-shaped relationship between average alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality. In the J-shaped relationship research referenced by the article’s authors, consumption above 20-30g/day compared to abstention resulted in increased mortality and rate of cirrhosis, cancer, and other trauma. Non-drinkers had a higher mortality rate than moderate drinkers, but researchers pointed out that non-drinkers were a heterogeneous group and may have included research subject who gave up drinking in response to health concerns or actual illness. At the conclusion of their analysis, the authors found that depression had the greatest impact on mortality and correlation with depression among male heavy drinkers (defined as consumption of an average of six or more drinks a day) and female former heavy drinkers. 5 tables, 50 references