Affective disorders, anxiety disorders and the risk of alcohol dependence and misuse.

BACKGROUND It is unclear whether common affective disorders and anxiety disorders increase the risk of alcohol dependence and alcohol misuse. Aims To investigate whether affective disorders and anxiety disorders increase the risk of alcohol dependence and alcohol misuse. METHOD This study is a retrospective cohort study based on data collected from the 2007 Australia Mental Health and Well-Being survey. Both Poisson and logistic regression models were used for multivariate analysis. RESULTS Participants with affective disorders (relative risk (RR) = 5.46, 95% CI 4.08-7.31 for alcohol dependence within 5 years of onset; RR = 2.77, 95% CI 1.93-3.99 after first 5 years) and anxiety disorders (RR = 3.33, 95% CI 2.37-4.68 for alcohol dependence within first 5 years of onset; RR = 3.56, 95% CI 2.72-4.64 after first 5 years) were at higher risk of alcohol misuse and alcohol dependence. CONCLUSIONS Common affective disorders and anxiety disorders may increase the risk of alcohol dependence and alcohol misuse among the Australian population.