Male primary alcoholics with and without family histories of affective disorder.
The relationship between the clinical course and a family history of affective disorder among 377 carefully diagnosed male primary alcoholics admitted to the Alcohol Treatment Program (ATP) at the San Diego Veterans Administration Medical Center is evaluated. Data were gathered from interviews with patients and two resource persons at intake and from patients and one resource person interview obtained on 361 (95%) of the men 12 months after discharge. The 37 primary alcoholic men (10%) who had a first-degree family member with affective disorder were themselves more likely to have had secondary depressions and to have experienced more alcohol-related problems at 1-year follow-up than the 90% of primary alcoholic men without such family histories. However, many clinical characteristics associated with a family history of affective disorder were similar to those observed in men with family histories of alcoholism. This indicates the possibility that the presence of a family history of illness in general may be as important as the specific diagnoses of affective disorder or alcoholism in the close family member.
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000235:genetics*