title: Telescoping phenomenon in pathological gambling: association with gender and comorbidities.
abstract: The course of pathological gambling (PG) in women has been described as having a later age of initiation but a shorter time to problematic gambling ("telescoped"). This study examined evidence for telescoping and its relationship with comorbidities. Seventy-one treatment-seeking individuals with PG underwent a diagnostic interview to examine gambling behaviors, age at initiation of gambling, and time from initiation to meeting criteria for PG. The women had a higher mean age at gambling initiation compared with that of the men (mean [SD] age, 31.3 [13.0] years, compared with 22.4 [7.9] years; p = 0.0003) and a significantly shorter time from initiation of gambling to meeting the criteria for PG (8.33 [8.7] years compared with 11.97 [9.1] years; p = 0.0476) after controlling for demographic and clinical variables. This study presents evidence for a gender-specific course of PG unrelated to psychiatric comorbidities and suggests a need for greater clinical focus on the gender differences of gambling behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, IL 60637, USA. jongrant@uchicago.edu
authors.forename: Jon E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: Brian L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Odlaug
authors.forename: Marc E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Mooney
mesh_terms: D000111:Acetylcysteine; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D001577:Benzophenones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D015897:Comorbidity; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005715:Gambling / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008559:Memantine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008875:Middle Aged; D009596:Nitrophenols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D000077867:Tolcapone; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001577:Benzophenones; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D009596:Nitrophenols; D000077867:Tolcapone; D008559:Memantine; D000111:Acetylcysteine