Am J Psychiatry 1989; 146:318-323
Copyright © 1989 by American Psychiatric Association
RDC alcoholism in patients with major affective syndromes: two-year course
DS Hasin, J Endicott and MB Keller
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY.
The authors examined the 2-year course of alcoholism as defined by Research
Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) in 127 newly admitted patients with major
affective syndromes and concurrent alcoholism at intake. The cumulative
probability of remission (at least 6 months free of alcohol problems) in
these patients was 0.67. Many of the remissions began within a few weeks of
intake; the remaining were distributed over the follow-up period. Of the
patients without remissions, 17% died, half by suicide. Diagnoses of
schizoaffective disorder, indicators of alcohol dependence, and previous
chronicity of alcohol problems predicted poor outcome of alcoholism, but
none of these variables predicted subsequent relapse.
