People with alcohol-use disorders attempt suicide at a rate six to 10 times greater than the general population, according to researchers at Martin Luther University in Halle, Germany.

UPI reported April 24 that studies have shown that up to 40 percent of people seeking treatment for alcohol problems had attempted suicide. The German study was based on assessments and interviews of 376 alcohol patients, 55 percent of whom were found to have a personality disorder, and 25 percent of whom had attempted suicide at least once.

This research study appears in the May 2006 issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research

From JoinTogether.org

The Practical Art of Suicide Assessment: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals and Substance Abuse Counselors by Shawn Christopher Shea Read more about this title…

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Study says alcohol addiction responds to the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program

The Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) program for beating alcohol addiction has a long history and has helped millions of people around the world back to health.

It works as a 12-step program – the Steps being the program of the system which guide the user away from their dysfunctional relationship with drink. The 12-steps involve belief in and surrender to a ‘higher’ power which the AA people always stress need not be a formal ‘God’. So does the 12-step approach work for those who are not religious?

Those enrolled in a 12-step program like Alcoholics Anonymous did better than those who did not.

Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Addiction Program studied a group of 227 alcoholics. Those enrolled in a 12-step program like Alcoholics Anonymous did better than those who did not. It is the camaraderie and support you get in the 12-step program that likely provides the benefit, the researchers say.

Source; Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research August 2006

Brief-TSF will assist in referring to AA.

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Alcohol Dependence and Personality Disorders: A comparative Study.

Aims: To describe the frequency and profile of personality disorders related to alcohol dependence, and to compare them with non-addictive disorders and with normal population.

Methods: In this cross-sectional clinical-epidemiological study, using the International Personality Disorder Examination and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II for personality disorders, 158 consecutively recruited alcohol-dependent patients attending a psychiatric outpatient clinic were compared with 120 consecutively recruited psychiatric patients with non-addictive disorders, and 103 subjects from the general population chosen to match the patient samples for age, gender and socioeconomic level.

Results: Of the alcohol-dependent patients, 44.3%, and of the general clinical sample, 21.7% (vs 6.8% of the normative sample) showed at least one personality disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorders were most prevalent (12%), followed by antisocial, paranoid and dependent personality disorders (7% each). Most of them showed only one personality disorder.

Research report; Enrique Echeburúa, Ricardo Bravo De Medina and Javier Aizpiri. Comorbidity of Alcohol Dependence and Personality Disorders: A comparative Study. Alcohol and Alcoholism, August 2007, doi:10.1093/alcalc/agm050

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