Monitoring Important With Antidepressants for Alcohol Use Disorder

Patients treated with antidepressants whose symptoms do not improve show more relapses in alcohol use disorder

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Aug. 5, 2024 (HealthDay News) — For patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) treated with antidepressants, those who achieve a reduction in depression symptoms have fewer relapses over time, according to a study published online July 26 in Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research.

Joshua Jaeger, from the University of Bern in Switzerland, and colleagues examined the relationship between antidepressant medication and changes in depression symptoms and alcohol use among 153 detoxified AUD patients who attended a 12-week residential treatment program between 2015 and 2019. To assess the role of changes in depression symptoms as a mediating factor, the total, direct, and mediated effects of antidepressants were estimated on the percentage of days abstinent.

The researchers identified a dual impact pathway model in the mediation analysis, with antidepressants having a significantly negative direct effect on abstinence and a significantly positive indirect effect, which was mediated via reduction of depression symptoms.

“Our findings call for personalized clinical decision-making based on vigilant monitoring of depression symptoms, and adopting tailored treatment approaches to optimize AUD treatment outcomes,” the authors write. “Given the frequent co-occurrence of AUD and depression symptoms and their treatment with antidepressant medication, our study offers potential implications for everyday clinical practice and calls for further investigation of the dual pathway hypothesis in diverse settings and populations.”