PREVALENCE OF DEPRESSION AMONG ISRAELI ALCOHOLICS

The Zung Depression Scale was given to 45 Israeli male alcoholics as diagnosed by DSM‐III criteria. Eighteen subjects came from an outpatient alcohol clinic, and 27 came from an inpatient detoxification center. In this cohort, 60% of subjects were classified as having clinical depression, and major depressive disorder was found in 26% of inpatients and 17% of outpatients. Pattern analysis of the Zung showed a disproportionately high percentage of all subjects responding to clinical symptoms featured in bipolar disorder, while the inpatient group reported significantly more difficulty than the outpatient group on parameters of pervasive affective disorder, early and frequent waking, constipation, irritability, and emptiness. Copyright © 1990 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company