PSYCHIATRIC COMORBIDITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE IMPAIRMENT IN ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY FROM A TERTIARY CARE COHORT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2026v19i3.58255Keywords:
Alcohol dependence syndrome, Psychiatric comorbidity, Anxiety disorder, Major depression, Quality of life,Abstract
Objective: The objective of the study is to determine the prevalence and pattern of anxiety and depression in patients with alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS) and to examine their association with quality of life (QoL) domains in a tertiary-care cohort.
Methods: This cross-sectional observational study enrolled 171 male patients diagnosed with ADS at a tertiary care center in India. Psychiatric morbidity was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and QoL was measured using the World Health Organization QoL-BREF. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis H tests, chi-square test for association between anxiety and depression severity, Spearman rank correlations, and multiple linear regression modeling. A comparative synthesis of published studies (2020–2025) was used to contextualize prevalence estimates.
Results: Using the standard HADS abnormal cut-off (≥11), abnormal anxiety was observed in 41.5% (n=71) and abnormal depression in 43.8% (n=75). When HADS caseness was defined as score ≥8, anxiety and depression caseness were present in 59.65% (n=102) and 59.06% (n=101), respectively, with comorbid anxiety–depression in 42.11% (n=72). Anxiety and depression caseness showed a significant association (χ2=13.88, p<0.001). Previous treatment history was not associated with lower current anxiety or depression severity; however, patients with prior treatment had significantly higher social well-being scores (mean difference=8.45, p=0.021). Correlations between psychiatric symptom severity and QoL domains were negligible (Spearman ρ<0.13), and regression models demonstrated low explanatory power (R2≤0.04).
Conclusion: Psychiatric comorbidity is common and clinically significant among tertiary-care ADS patients. The finding that previous treatment is linked to better social functioning despite persistent psychiatric symptoms suggests that treatment contact may confer durable social benefits independent of symptom remission. The weak symptom–QoL association and low model R2 values support the view that functional outcomes in ADS are multidetermined, underscoring the need for integrated dual-diagnosis care with explicit emphasis on sustained psychosocial rehabilitation and social reintegration.
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