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A prospective study of male in-patients over 55 years old who met Feighner criteria for non-bipolar depression was performed to determine if a previous history of alcoholism significantly influenced treatment or response to treatment. Among 58 subjects with complete follow-up information, the 16 who had a history of alcoholism had a presentation at index which differed from that of the non-alcoholics, and on follow-up they clearly had more chronic illness. This elderly sample with alcoholism resembles 'neurotic-reactive' depressives described in younger samples, and supports a past history of alcoholism as being a risk factor for chronicity of depression on follow-up in the elderly population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Some studies have suggested relationships between depression in probands and alcoholism in relatives. Other studies have not, but some of these have used inappropriate control groups or failed to divide probands by sex. Method: The present study controlled for sex of probands and used several comparison groups to further explore the familial relationship between depression and alcoholism. Diagnoses for 723 directly interviewed relatives of 326 probands with primary unipolar depression were compared to diagnoses in 469 control subjects chosen by an acquaintanceship method to demographically resemble the relatives of affective disorder probands. Diagnoses in the uninterviewed relatives of both control and depressed subjects were used for comparisons as well. Results: Results indicated higher rates of alcoholism in the families of depressed women but not in the families of depressed men. Conclusions: This familial association between alcoholism and depression may be the result of either genetic or environmental factors or an interaction between the two. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors studied 401 patients with depressions secondary to psychiatric illnesses (substance abuse disorders or somatoform, anxiety, or personality disorders) or depressions secondary to medical illnesses. They found that the patients with depressions secondary to psychiatric illnesses had an earlier age at onset, were more likely to have suicidal thoughts or to have made suicide attempts, were less likely to have memory problems, were less improved with treatment and more likely to relapse on follow-up, and had more alcoholism in their families than patients with depressions secondary to medical illnesses. Depressions secondary to medical illnesses seem to fit the category of reactive depression, and depressions secondary to psychiatric illnesses fit the definition of neurotic depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of a case-control study, the authors conclude that former psychiatric inpatients are more likely than control subjects to die of both natural and unnatural causes within 2 years of discharge. Patients who committed suicide were more likely to have had a diagnosis of affective disorder (unipolar depression) or alcoholism. Those who died of natural causes were more likely to have been admitted with medical diagnoses; no specific psychiatric diagnoses were associated with these deaths. It is doubtful that medical illnesses caused psychiatric syndromes such as depression in these inpatients. Psychiatric and medical illnesses combined may increase a patient's likelihood of seeking psychiatric help and entering the hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites a study that aims to examine the morbid risks for affective disorder, alcoholism, and sociopathy in first degree relatives, and determine whether the data support the concept of separate illnesses within the broad rubric of alcoholism or the concept of a different expression of the same illness between the sexes. Subjects of the study consists of 259 alcoholic probands. Morbidity risks for first degree relatives of male and female probands were calculated separately for alcoholism, for depression, and for sociopathy in each of the diagnostic groups of primary alcoholism, depression-alcoholism, and sociopathy-alcoholism. Results showed an inverse relationship between alcoholism and depression in the first degree family members.

The article focuses on sex differences and alcoholism in primary affective disorder. Further material has showed a familial relationship between alcoholism and a number of other psychiatric illnesses, a relationship that was only seen in male relatives. Affective disorder is seen more frequently in females than males. This inequality seems not to be accounted for by alcoholism in the males. The author also presented information concerning the risk of affective disorder for siblings of the number of probands with a positive family history of afffective disorder.

The article presents a study that examines the influence of parental alcoholism or affective disorder on the characteristics of alcoholism in probands, progeny and siblings. The researchers selected the population of 156 male and 103 female alcoholics in 1967 and 1968, who were all in-patients of a psychiatric hospital. Separate analyses were conducted on male and female probands, which were classified into two groups, including those with alcoholism in either parent compared with those without alcoholism, and those probands with a parent diagnosed as affective disorder compared with those without the history. Findings showed that affective disorder or alcoholism in parents of alcoholic probands had less influence on the clinical variables of the illness of the proband.

A letter to the editor is presented about the relation of alcoholism with psychiatric disorder.

The article presents a study which evaluates the difference between depression spectrum disease and pure depressive disease patients with affective disorder. For the process, a total of 740 probands have been collected in which a systematic family history was being obtained from each probands for the past ten years. The results indicate the visibility of the such types of depressive illnesses which appears to be differentiated in both gender, age of onset, and family history of alcoholism/sociopathy. Furthermore, the depression spectrum disease is indicated in the early onset female with a family history of sociopathy, while pure depressive disease can be seen in the late onset male having no history of alcoholism.

The article presents a study that examines the demographic parameters and family histories of alcoholics with a history of hallucinosis. The study assesses the correlation between alcoholic hallucinations and schizophrenia, as postulated by Eugen Bleuler. Specifically, the history of hallucinosis relative to schizophrenic-like symptoms is considered. The relation of alcoholics with hallucinosis showing an increased familial incidence of schizophrenia is also evaluated. The results of the study showed that alcoholics with a history of alcoholic hallucinosis are not distinct by a prior history of schizophrenia within families. Furthermore, it has been concluded that the theory linking alcoholism with hallucinosis to schizophrenia is not true.