Next, the investigators determined the risks of alcoholism or depression for the relatives of three types of alcoholic probands—those with alcoholism alone, those with alcoholism and depressive syndrome, and those with alcoholism and major depression. The risk of alcoholism was significantly increased in the relatives of probands with both types of depression compared with probands with alcoholism alone (see table 3). Similarly, the risk of depression was increased in relatives of alcoholic probands with major depression and, to a lesser extent, in relatives of alcoholic probands with depressive syndrome. These findings support the idea that the AAD phenotype may represent a genetically distinct condition.
