Many clinical studies document the comorbid occurrence of alcohol dependence with depression.1–3 Although there are exceptions,4 patients with these types of co-occurring disorders tend to have a worse prognosis than those with either condition alone.3;5–15 Data from population-based surveys also report high frequencies of comorbidity for mood and alcohol use disorders.16–19 In a number of nationally representative surveys, the prevalence of comorbid mood and alcohol disorders is relatively high. The conditions co-occur to a greater degree than would be expected by chance alone. For example, in prior analyses of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), mood disorders, including major depression, dysthymia, mania and hypomania were found to have consistently positive associations with alcohol dependence.19;20 Among individuals with prior year depression, 11.0% met criteria for alcohol dependence.19 Among those with alcohol dependence in the prior year, 20.5% had concurrent depression.19 Furthermore, there is also evidence in some studies that stronger comorbid associations are found among females.17;18;21 Alcohol abuse also has been found to be associated with mood conditions, although in some instances, it has a weaker comorbid association with affective disorders.17;19
