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Clinical characteristics of familial versus sporadic alcoholism in a sample of male and female patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

F. Limosin ,
P. Gorwood  and
J. Adès
F. Limosin*
Affiliation:
Service de psychiatrie, Hôpital Louis Mourier, 178 rue des Renouillers, 92701 Colombes cedex, France
P. Gorwood
Affiliation:
Service de psychiatrie, Hôpital Louis Mourier, 178 rue des Renouillers, 92701 Colombes cedex, France
J. Adès
Affiliation:
Service de psychiatrie, Hôpital Louis Mourier, 178 rue des Renouillers, 92701 Colombes cedex, France
*
*Correspondence and reprints. E-mail address: frederic.limosin@wanadoo.fr (F. Limosin).
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Summary

Presence of a family history of alcoholism may predict clinical characteristics in affected subjects, such as an earlier age at onset. More frequent and severe social maladjustment and somatic complications are also regularly cited for familial alcoholism, although subject to many other confusing factors. We analysed the clinical specificities of 79 alcohol-dependent inpatients according to the absence versus presence of family history of alcoholism.

Patients were evaluated for lifetime psychiatric morbidity with the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies (DIGS), for somatic complications with a systematic screening list, and first-degree relatives (N  =  428) were assessed with the Family Inventory Schedule and Criteria (FISC).

Age at onset and social complications were predicting familial versus sporadic alcoholism, even when considering censored data and/or interaction between variables. But differences became non-significant when excluding patients with antisocial personality.

If age at onset effectively appears to be the most informative characteristic for predicting familial versus sporadic alcoholism, it seems that it may be necessary in future studies to systematically take into account antisocial personality diagnosis, because of a probable contamination.

Keywords

alcoholismantisocial personalityfamily historyrisk factors
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , April 2001 , pp. 151 - 156
Copyright
Copyright © Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS 2001

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