Clinical-Dynamic Features of Affective Disorders Comorbid with Alcohol Dependence

Comorbidity of affective disorders (AD) and alcohol dependence (AlD) worsens prognosis and efficiency of therapy, exacerbates non-compliance in patients, and lowers their level of social adjustment. To study the influence of AlD on clinical-dynamic characteristics of AD, two groups of patients were examined and compared. The study group included 32 patients with AD and comorbid AlD. The comparison group included 31 AD patients without comorbid addictive pathology. The patients of compared groups did not have statistical differences (p > 0.05) according to sex, age, and AD. The Clinical Global Impression scale (CGI), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), and Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale (SASS) were used. Compared to the group without comorbidity, the group of patients with comorbid AD and AlD had more frequent suicide attempts in their medical history, a high level of anxiety according to HARS, severe disorders according to CGI-S, and difficult and impaired social adaptation according to SASS; patients with recurrent depressive disorder (RDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) also experienced a larger number of affective episodes per year. AlD comorbid with AD affects clinical-dynamic indicators and levels of social adjustment in patients.