Alcohol Use Disorder and Depression: Study Reveals Counterintuitive Truth

A new study conducted by the University of Chicago Medicine has challenged long-held beliefs about the effects of alcohol on individuals with drinking disorders and depression. Researchers found that people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and depression experience high levels of stimulation and pleasure when intoxicated, similar to those who do not have depression.

The study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, followed 232 individuals across the United States between the ages of 21 and 35 and found that counterintuitive to folklore, participants with AUD and a depressive disorder reported feeling acute, sustained positive and rewarding alcohol effects – just like their non-depressed counterparts.

"We have this folklore that people drink excessively when they're feeling depressed and that it's really about self-medicating," said Andrea King, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience. "But our study reveals that these individuals experience similar intense pleasure from drinking as those who do not have depression."

The researchers discovered that while alcohol consumption did reduce negative feelings in all patients, the reduction was small and nonspecific to their depression or AUD status. However, they found that individuals with AUD experienced much higher levels of positive effects from alcohol compared to those without AUD.

This study suggests that traditional approaches to treating AUD and depression may not be effective, as they often focus on stress-responsive systems rather than addressing the pleasure reward pathways involved in drinking behavior. Instead, treatment strategies could be tailored more specifically to intervene with these pathways, potentially leading to improved outcomes for individuals struggling with AUD and depression.