Alcohol consumption is a risk factor for various comorbidities, such as cirrhosis, chronic sclerosing stomatitis, and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Our study examined the associations between psychological factors and alcohol addiction of the individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) in Southern Taiwan.

Demographic information as well as suicidal history and sources of stress were collected from 177 participants. The extent of alcoholism was assessed by AUDIT questionnaire. Demographic and linear regression analyses were performed with the Statistical Software Stata version 12.0 (StataCorp LP, College Station, TX, USA).

Demographic data, suicidal history and the causes of stress of patients divided by AUDIT scores are shown in Table 1. Among 177 participants, 17 (9.6%) had suicidal thoughts, 4 (2.3%) had suicide plan, 22 (12.5%) self-injured, and four-fifth of patients lived under pressure. Patients who self-harmed were with significant lower AUDIT scores of -7.24 (95% CI: -11.49 – -3.00) (Table. 2). The AUDIT scores of patients with physical stress, interpersonal difficulties and loneliness increased significantly by 6.71 (95% CI: 3.19 – 10.30), 6.14 (95% CI: 2.15 – 10.13) and 5.02 (95% CI: 0.93 – 9.11), respectively (Table. 3).

Our findings indicated negative correlation with alcohol use and auto-inflicted injury. However, previous study showed systematic assessment of the association between suicide and AUD, and considered alcohol an important risk factor for suicide, which is related to mental health and affected by different genders and drinking patterns. Our results may provide reference for estimation of the alcohol-related psychological effects in Taiwan.

No significant relationships.

Vulnerable groups like patients suffering from alcohol use disorders (AUD) are expected to be particularly affected by the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a prior study (N=127), we found that psychosocial COVID-19 factors and living alone elevated the probability for relapse during the initial stage of the pandemic, whereas long-term effects on mental health have yet to be investigated.

Here we aimed to investigate the risk of PTSD, as well as levels and developments in depression, anxiety and stress symptomatology as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic among patients with AUD.

Data was collected from a clinical sample of patients with AUD (N=136) in late 2020 and early 2021. PTSD symptoms due to the pandemic were assessed using an adapted version of the impact of event scale (IES-R). Levels in clinical symptoms were collected on the depression, anxiety and stress scale (DASS-21), and changes since the onset of the pandemic were assessed additionally.

The high-risk PTSD-group showed higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress, and reported more severe deteriorations in these symptoms, when compared to the low-risk group. A binary logistic regression model revealed psychological and social aspects of the pandemic to increase the probability for PTSD, whereas sociodemographic and other COVID-19 related factors showed no significant effects.

About 30% of patients with AUD indicated an elevated risk of PTSD due to the pandemic, as well as deteriorations in levels of depression, anxiety and stress. These concerning findings should be especially considered in current and future treatment settings.

No significant relationships.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is highly related to various comorbidities, such as cancer, cognitive impairment, cirrhosis, chronic sclerosing stomatitis, stroke, and depression. The CAGE (Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye-opener) questionnaire is a simple screening material to make a diagnosis of alcoholism.

Our study aimed to find an optimal cut-off point of CAGE for alcohol-related comorbidities in Taiwan.

We performed demographic analysis for 280 participants with AUD and categorized them into two groups according to CAGE scores. We applied receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis to determine optimal cutting point of CAGE in predicting physical and mental problems among alcohol users. Statistical analysis was performed with the Statistical Software Stata version 12.0 (StataCorp LP, College Station, TX, USA).

The mean age of participants was 45.9 ± 10.5 years, and all of them were male. Among 280 participants, 134 (47.9%) had physical diseases, including 37 (13.2%) with liver disease, 10 (3.6%) with pancreatitis, 22 (7.9%) with gout, and 5 (1.8%) with esophageal varices; while 33 (11.8%) had one or more mental illnesses. Patients with CAGE score greater than 3 were more likely to have both mental health problems and/or physical diseases, especially hepatic disease and esophageal varices.

This study revealed that with CAGE score greater than 3, male patients with AUD are at higher risks of both physical and mental comorbidities. Further research as well as female participants are needed to identify the associations between the severity of alcohol use disorder and related diseases for comprehensive evaluation in Taiwan.