Gender-related associations between psychiatric disorders and alcohol use disorder: Findings from the french "Mental health in the general population" survey.

Abstract

Women with alcohol use disorder (AUD) might be particularly vulnerable to psychiatric comorbidities. However, population surveys have yielded disparate findings. We used data from the French Mental Health in the General Population survey to investigate gender-related risks of psychiatric comorbidities associated with AUD. A cross-sectional survey based on face-to-face interviews, including the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, was conducted among 38,717 subjects. Logistic regression models were used to assess risks of psychiatric comorbidities associated with AUD. After adjustment for socio-demographics and other psychiatric disorders, both women and men with AUD were at higher risk of comorbid depressive disorder (odds ratio [OR] = 2.6, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.0-3.4 in women, and OR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.7-2.4 in men), bipolar I disorder (2.5; 1.4-4.4 in women vs. 2.6; 1.9-3.4 in men), and psychotic disorder (1.6; 1.01-2.5 in women vs. 1.8; 1.4-2.3 in men). Women with AUD exhibited an increased risk of comorbid panic disorder (OR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.1-2.2) while the increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was significant in men only (OR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.6-4.2). The increased risk of comorbid substance use disorder (SUD) was more elevated in women, compared to men (12.9; 8.1-18.1 vs. 4.8; 4.0-5.8 in men). Most of psychiatric conditions were over-represented in both women and men with AUD, relative to controls. Gender-specific findings were that women with AUD had an increased risk of comorbid SUD or panic disorder, while men had a significantly higher risk of comorbid PTSD.