Types of Depression among Iraqi Alcoholics

Objective: Evidence suggests that there is a close association between alcohol dependence and depression. The researcher sought to identify the nature of this association and to demonstrate the clinical variables of such patients that may have therapeutic effects. Method: Samples of 50 alcoholics who met DSM -IV criteria and who were admitted to Ibn Rushd and Al-Rashad psychiatric hospitals in Baghdad during the period from 1st Jan to 1st Sep 2006 were assessed by DSM-IV based clinical interviews on three occasions for the presence of major depression. Results: Sixty percent of patients had concurrent depression on admission, 30% had depression two weeks later, and 10% remained depressed after one month. High statistically significant association was observed between primary depressed alcoholics firstly with family history of depression and secondly with lower duration of alcohol intake in contrast to non- depressed and secondary depressed alcoholics who showed significant association with family history of alcoholism and longer duration of alcohol intake. Conclusions: High association exists between alcohol dependence and depression during the course of illness, during intake (concurrent depression), after detoxification (secondary depression) and during sobriety; after achieving abstinence, primary depression appear in those patients who used alcohol to medicate themselves leading ultimately to secondary alcoholism. These findings suggest variable multiple associations that require a different psychotherapeutic intervention for each. The current study failed to find the prevalence of comorbid depression and alcoholism because of sampling method.