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Characterizing alcohol dependence: transitions during young and middle adulthood
Kristina M Jackson1, Susan E O'Neill, Kenneth J Sher
1Missouri Alcoholism Research Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA. Kristina_Jackson@brown.edu
Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology
|June 8, 2006
Summary
Alcohol dependence shows distinct symptom profiles and high stability, indicating a chronic condition. However, remission is more common than progression to severe dependence.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Epidemiology
- Addiction Science
Background:
- Conflicting findings exist regarding the stability and chronicity of alcohol dependence.
- Community and high-risk studies suggest stability, while epidemiological data indicate an age-graded decline.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify latent trajectory classes of past-year alcohol dependence.
- To determine if alcohol dependence is characterized by distinct symptom profiles.
- To assess the stability and persistence of alcohol dependence over time.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from 4,003 current drinkers in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.
- Utilized two waves of data collection: 1989 (ages 24-32) and 1994 (ages 29-37).
- Employed latent trajectory and latent transition analyses to model dependence patterns.
Main Results:
- Identified three distinct classes of alcohol dependence, with increasing symptom severity across classes.
- Latent transition analyses revealed high rates of stability, supporting a chronic nature of the condition.
- Observed greater syndrome remission than progression to more severe dependence.
Conclusions:
- Alcohol dependence exhibits stable, chronic trajectories with identifiable symptom profiles.
- While progression to severe dependence occurs, remission is a more frequent outcome.
- Findings were largely generalizable across race and sex, with some generalizability across age cohort and family history.
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