PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kathryn Graham
AU  - Agnes Massak
TI  - Alcohol consumption and the use of antidepressants
AID  - 10.1503/cmaj.060446
DP  - 2007 Feb 27
TA  - Canadian Medical Association Journal
PG  - 633--637
VI  - 176
IP  - 5
4099  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/176/5/633.short
4100  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/176/5/633.full
SO  - CMAJ2007 Feb 27; 176
AB  - Background: The purpose of the present study is to explore the relation between use of antidepressants and level of alcohol consumption among depressed and nondepressed men and women. Methods: Random-digit dialling and computer-assisted telephone interviewing were used to survey a sample of 14 063 Canadian residents, aged 18–76 years. The survey included measures of quantity and frequency of drinking, the World Health Organization's Composite International Diagnostic Interview measure of depression, and a question as to whether respondents had used antidepressants during the past year. Results: Overall, depressed respondents drank more alcohol than did nondepressed respondents. This was not true, however, for depressed men who used antidepressants; they consumed a mean of 414 drinks during the preceding year, versus 579 drinks for depressed men who did not use antidepressants and 436 for nondepressed men. For women, the positive relation between depression and heavier alcohol consumption held true regardless of their use of antidepressants: 264 drinks during the preceding year for depressed women who used antidepressants; 235, for depressed women who did not use antidepressants; and 179, for nondepressed women. Interpretation: Results of this cross-sectional study are consistent with a possible beneficial effect of antidepressant use upon drinking by depressed men. Further research is needed, however, to assess whether this finding results from drug effects or some other factor, and to ascertain why the effect was found among men but not women.