Severity of alcohol dependence and its relationship to neurological soft signs, neuropsychological impairment and family history

We examined the relationship between severity of alcohol dependence, subtle neurological impairment, neuropsychological deficits and genetic vulnerability among 36 day hospital attenders who satisfied the DSM‐III‐R criteria for alcohol dependence. Severity of alcohol dependence was unrelated to the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica 1997-04, Vol.95 (4), p.272-276
Main Authors: Keenan, E., O'Donnell, C., Sinanan, K., O'Callaghan, E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictive behaviors
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Aged
Alcoholism
Alcoholism - complications
Alcoholism - genetics
Alcoholism - psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Brain Damage, Chronic - diagnosis
Brain Damage, Chronic - genetics
Brain Damage, Chronic - psychology
family history
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Neurologic Examination - statistics & numerical data
neurological soft signs
Neuropsychological Tests - statistics & numerical data
neuropsychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychometrics
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Risk Factors
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Summary:We examined the relationship between severity of alcohol dependence, subtle neurological impairment, neuropsychological deficits and genetic vulnerability among 36 day hospital attenders who satisfied the DSM‐III‐R criteria for alcohol dependence. Severity of alcohol dependence was unrelated to the presence of a family history, but was correlated with neurological soft signs and neuropsychological impairment. Neurological soft signs were correlated with neuropsychological impairment on both Trail A and Trail B. Patients with an affected first‐degree relative exhibited more neurological soft signs. These data indicate that severity of alcohol dependence is related not only to neuropsychological impairment, but also to subtle neurological deficits which may not be apparent on conventional neurological examination. Patients with a positive family history of alcohol dependence may be particularly susceptible to the neurological sequelae of alcohol dependence, or may have neurological deficits which antedate their alcohol dependence.
ISSN:0001-690X
1600-0447
DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0447.1997.tb09631.x