Affective disorder in alcoholism

In an attempt to explore the relationship between alcoholism and depression, family history data were examined in a sample of 90 alcoholic patients, 39 of whom were also depressed. Although subtypes of depression could not be distinguished on the basis of family history data, patients with depression were almost twice as likely to have a depressed biological relative and were more likely to have depression in two consecutive generations than nondepressed alcoholics. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of differential diagnosis, treatment, and future research.