Hazardous drinking-related characteristics of depressive disorders in Korea: The crescend study

This study aimed to identify clinical correlates of hazardous drinking in a large cohort ofKorean patients with depression. We recruited a total of 402 depressed patients aged >18 yr from the Clinical Research Center for Depression (CRESCEND) study in Korea. Patients'drinking habits were assessed using the Korean Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test(AUDIT-K). Psychometric scales, including the HAMD, HAMA, BPRS, CGI-S, SSI-Beck,SOFAS, and WHOQOL-BREF, were used to assess depression, anxiety, overall psychiatricsymptoms, global severity, suicidal ideation, social functioning, and quality of life,respectively. We compared demographic and clinical features and psychometric scoresbetween patients with and without hazardous drinking behavior after adjusting for theeffects of age and sex. We then performed binary logistic regression analysis to identifyindependent correlates of hazardous drinking in the study population. Our results revealedthat hazardous drinking was associated with current smoking status, history of attemptedsuicide, greater psychomotor retardation, suicidal ideation, weight loss, and lowerhypochondriasis than non-hazardous drinking. The regression model also demonstratedthat more frequent smoking, higher levels of suicidal ideation, and lower levels ofhypochondriasis were independently correlates for hazardous drinking in depressedpatients. In conclusion, depressed patients who are hazardous drinkers experience severersymptoms and a greater burden of illness than non-hazardous drinkers. In Korea, screeningdepressed patients for signs of hazardous drinking could help identify subjects who maybenefit from comprehensive therapeutic approaches.