Sub-populations of alcohol-dependent patients: differences in psychological functioning between high- and...

The purpose of the present study was to examine the processes underlying relapse to drinking using objective biological validation of self-reported recent alcohol consumption, using the ratio of 5-hydroxytryptophol to 5-hydroxyindol-3-ylacetic acid (5-HTOL/5-HIAA), a new biological marker to detect single episodes of drinking, in a sample of 38 male alcohol-dependent patients (DSM-III-R) who were assessed prospectively in terms of their clinical symptomatology over a 6-month treatment period. Results showed that nearly all patients obtained positive 5-HTOL/5-HIAA samples during the course of treatment. However, upon closer inspection, results revealed a bimodal distribution for alcohol intake with high and low frequency of consumption episodes. Results showed that high frequency consumers obtained higher ratings of clinical symptoms as measured by the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS) and by the St Göran's Semi-structured Interview (SGSI) compared to low frequency alcohol consumers on symptoms of inner tension, lack of initiative, risk of relapse (as rated by therapists and as rated by patients themselves), dysphoria, negative craving for alcohol, and positive craving for alcohol. The present results provided evidence for the existence of two sub-populations of alcoholics, those who have frequent lapses and those who have low frequency of sporadic lapses. Further, these two sub-populations were shown to differ with respect to overall psychological functioning, and craving for alcohol. In conclusion, the present findings have important treatment implications in that reliable identification of patients' consumption patterns using biological markers would allow for the design of individually tailored treatment needs.