Alcohol misuse and depression symptoms among males and females

To examine the association between alcohol misuse and depression symptoms as it varies among male and female patients.

This was a cross-sectional survey of 412 randomly selected adult patients who sought care in the emergency department. The main predictor variables of alcohol misuse were created from AUDIT, RAPS4, binge drinking, alcohol abuse, and alcohol dependence measures. The outcome variable of depression symptoms was measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D, > or =16).

There were 41% of women and 35% of men who reported greater depression and 34.1% of men and 9.2% of women reported alcohol misuse. Alcohol misuse, stress, and education level all correlated with greater depression in men whereas age was most significant for women. Men who misused alcohol were 2.5 times more likely to report greater depression (OR=2.47, 95%CI=1.37 - 4.45, P< or =0.05). In women, a 10-year increase in age was associated with a 36% increase in the odds of depression (OR=1.55, 95%CI=1.12 - 2.13, P< or =0.05).

While it may be unrealistic to expect emergency department providers to fully attend to all the mental health needs of their patients, they should use windows of opportunity to identify patients who present with symptoms of depression and/or alcohol misuse for potential intervention.