Influence of beer, wine and spirits consumption on craving

The importance of craving in alcoholism and the efficacy of treatment has been the subject of various studies. This study focuses on the consumption of different alcoholic beverages and their effect on craving, which has not yet been investigated. Therefore we assessed 197 inpatients using the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS) on the day of admission and after 1 week, distinguishing between the total score, the obsessive and the compulsive subscale. Socio-demographic data and the type of alcoholic beverage were recorded. Analysing data, the amount of beer consumption showed a significant influence on craving in male but not in female patients. These results were significant for the total score and both subscales of the OCDS (OCDS total score; day 0: Spearman's rho = 0.31; p = 0.001; logistic regression, dependent variable dichotomized OCDS total score day 0: OR = 1.18; 95% CI = 1.04 - 1.34; p = 0.011). On the other hand we, did not find any significant results for the amount of other beverages such as wine and spirits. Receiver operating curves analysis showed that beer consumption significantly predicts craving [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.66; p = 0.002]. We conclude that higher beer consumption is associated with higher withdrawal craving, at least in male patients. In addition, it is an important predictor for both obsessive and compulsive craving. Further studies are needed to clarify the pathophysiological basis of this finding.