Abstract
Alcohol use disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are highly prevalent and commonly co-occur, notably in veterans. We explored differences in the pre-treatment characteristics of veterans with alcohol dependence (AD) alone compared to those with co-occurring AD and PTSD. Veterans were recruited to participate in two different treatment studies and baseline characteristics were compared. Those with co-occurring illnesses demonstrated significantly higher pre-treatment pathology across all psychopathological domains. While those with AD alone averaged more days of drinking and had more heavy drinking days, those with co-occurring illnesses reported more drinking-related symptoms. The presence of a major depressive episode had no effect on drinking. Within the PTSD group, combat exposure was associated with increased drinking independent of the severity of PTSD symptoms. This study underscores the importance of screening for comorbidity in clinical treatment settings, and for collecting detailed drinking histories and assessing psychiatric symptoms across all domains of psychopathology.
Keywords:
Alcohol dependence; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Veterans.
© 2013.
Publication types
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Multicenter Study
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Randomized Controlled Trial
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Adolescent
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Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists / administration & dosage
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Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists / therapeutic use
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Adult
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Aged
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Alcohol Drinking / drug therapy
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Alcohol Drinking / epidemiology*
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Alcohol Drinking / psychology
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Alcoholism / drug therapy
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Alcoholism / epidemiology
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Alcoholism / psychology*
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Comorbidity
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Connecticut / epidemiology
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Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry)
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Massachusetts / epidemiology
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Mecamylamine / administration & dosage
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Mecamylamine / therapeutic use
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Mental Disorders / drug therapy
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Mental Disorders / epidemiology
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Middle Aged
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Nicotinic Antagonists / administration & dosage
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Nicotinic Antagonists / therapeutic use*
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Placebos
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Prazosin / administration & dosage
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Prazosin / therapeutic use
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Psychotropic Drugs / administration & dosage
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Psychotropic Drugs / therapeutic use*
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Severity of Illness Index
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Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / drug therapy
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Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / epidemiology*
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Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology
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Substance-Related Disorders / drug therapy
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Substance-Related Disorders / epidemiology
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Treatment Outcome
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Veterans / psychology*
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Veterans / statistics & numerical data
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Young Adult
Substances
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Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists
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Nicotinic Antagonists
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Placebos
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Psychotropic Drugs
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Mecamylamine
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Prazosin