Lifetime DSM-IV-defined alcohol dependence was less prevalent among remitted individuals, who also had a shorter duration of AUD, similar to evidence that individuals with less severe drinking histories are more likely to achieve remission (Moos & Moos, 2006; Penick et al. 2010). The remission rate of over 40% in this young sample is consistent with rates of remission in population-based (Lopez-Quintero et al. 2011), clinical (Charney et al. 2010) and high-risk samples (Schuckit et al. 2001; Ehlers et al. 2004). Among Mission Indians with a history of alcohol dependence, 61% were in remission, defined as no current symptoms, when interviewed for a cross-sectional study (Ehlers et al. 2004). In a high-risk family study of probands with alcohol dependence and their family members, 32% of individuals with alcohol dependence and 45% of those who met abuse criteria at baseline met no criteria 5 years later (Schuckit et al. 2001). A clinical study of 175 patients in treatment for alcohol abuse or dependence found that 43% of participants were abstinent 4 weeks after beginning out-patient treatment for AUD (Charney et al. 2010).
