Skip to main content

Monitoring Important With Antidepressants for Alcohol Use Disorder

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Aug 5, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Aug. 5, 2024 -- 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."

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Higher Social Media Use Tied to Subsequent Depressive Symptoms in Youth

FRIDAY, May 23, 2025 -- Higher social media use is associated with greater subsequent depressive symptoms in children and adolescents, according to a study published online May 21...

Half of Youth-Serving Clinicians Screen for Substance Use Disorder at Every Well Visit

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- Just over half of youth-serving clinicians report that they routinely screen adolescents for substance use disorders (SUDs) at every well visit...

Combinations of Chronic, Physical Illnesses Up the Risk of Subsequent Depression

WEDNESDAY, May 21, 2025 -- Certain groups of physical multimorbidity may be associated with a higher risk of subsequent depression, according to a study published online May 13...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.