Associations of common mental disorder with alcohol use in the adult general population

Abstract

Background and Aims

Research has shown that alcohol use and common mental disorders co-occur; however, little is known about how the global prevalence of alcohol use compares across different common mental disorders. The aim of this study was to (i) report global associations of alcohol use (alcohol use disorder, binge drinking and consumption) compare those with and without common mental disorders, (ii) examine how this differed among those with and without specific types of common mental disorders and (iii) examine how results may differ by study characteristics.

The systematic review examined evidence from a total of 51 research articles, 17 of which were included in a meta-analysis.

Findings:

• Individuals with a common mental disorder had a twofold increase in the odds of reporting an alcohol use disorder.
• The odds of having an alcohol use disorder were similar when stratified by the type of common mental disorder. 
• There were no clear patterns for associations between having a common mental disorder and binge drinking or alcohol consumption, respectively.

Conclusions

People with common mental disorders (depression, anxiety, phobia) are twice as likely to report an alcohol use disorder than people without common mental disorders.