Comorbidity of Alcohol Use Disorder and Depression Among Patients Attending a Tertiary Hospital in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract:The study aims to ascertain the co-morbidity of Alcohol and Depression among patients attending the general outpatient clinic of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. Via a system sampling method; 470 consenting subjects were enlisted in the study. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Inventory (AUDIT) and the Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) were administered to each. Only one hundred and eighty five subjects met the criteria for the second stage of the study, (a score of 18 and above on the BDI and/or a score of 5 and above on AUDIT). Results showed that there was a significantly higher prevalence of Alcohol Use Disorders among those with higher depressive symptoms. Furthermore, about (45.8%) half of these with Alcohol Use Disorders were diagnosed with depression in comparison to 26.0% of those without Alcohol Use Disorder. In agreement with other studies, there was a greater likelihood of depression among the subjects who were diagnosed with AUD. Nevertheless, the specific mechanism underlying this co-morbidity is yet to be elucidated.

Prevalence, Demographic, and Clinical Correlates of Comorbid Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Psychiatric Patients With Alcohol Dependence

“…Our finding that the co-occurrence prevalence of depressive symptoms was 48.9% in AD patients closely corresponds with the findings of hospital-based studies conducted in other countries. For example, Ugochukwu et al reported that the prevalence of major depression among 470 patients with alcohol use disorder was 45.8% in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria (6). Another study conducted by Odlaug and colleagues showed that the rate of depression among 2,979 AD patients was 43.1% in eight European countries (7).…”

“…The prevalence of their co-occurrence in individuals with AD fluctuates markedly, according to how depressive symptoms are measured or defined. Epidemiologic data showed that the comorbidity rate in the general population varied between 15% and 28% (1,(3)(4)(5), whereas in clinical samples, this rate was much higher, ranging from 43% to 48% (6,7). Moreover, AD is significantly associated with depression.…”

“…However, previous studies regarding comorbid depressive symptoms in AD patients were conducted in Western or African countries (6,7,25). To date, no published data on the prevalence and clinical correlates of comorbid depressive symptoms in AD patients in the Chinese Han population are available.…”