Prevalence and impact of comorbid alcohol use disorder in bipolar disorder: A prospective follow-up study

Alcohol use disorder may very well increase the likelihood of affective episodes in bipolar disorder, but prospective data on survival are inconsistent.

The authors examined the prevalence of alcohol use disorders and their impact on the risk of relapse. A total of 284 consecutively admitted International Classification of Diseases-10 bipolar I (n = 161) and II (n = 123) patients were followed up naturalistically over a period of 4 years.

The prevalence of alcohol use disorders was higher in bipolar II disorder than in bipolar I disorder (26.8% vs 14.9%; χ(2) = 5.46, p = 0.019), with a global prevalence of alcohol use disorders of 20.1% in the whole sample. A total of 8.7% of bipolar I patients suffered from alcohol abuse and 6.2% from alcohol dependency, whereas 13% bipolar II patients had alcohol abuse and 13.8% alcohol dependency. Male bipolar subjects had a higher prevalence of alcohol use disorders than female patients (38.3% vs 12.8%; χ(2) = 21.84, p-value < 0.001). The presence of alcohol use disorders was associated with an increased risk of depressive relapse in bipolar I patients (Cox regression analysis hazard ratio = 2.7, p = 0.005). The increased risk was not modulated by medication.

Our data underline the negative long-term impact of alcohol use disorders on bipolar disorder with more depressive bipolar I episodes and the importance of its detection and treatment.