· ISSN 1433-1055 Depressive Mood and Craving During Alcohol Withdrawal: Association and Interaction

Background: Symptoms of both depression and craving for alcohol occur regularly in patients suffering from alcoholism, especially during ethanol withdrawal. In order to test the hypothesis whether both symptoms are associated, reflecting possibly a common basic disturbance, self-rated depression and craving were analysed during an alcohol detoxification program. Methods: A sample of 69 alcoholic inpatients (55 male, 14 female, age 43.3, standard deviation 9.2 years) were in-cluded in the study. Craving and depressive symptoms were assessed on the first and the 14th day following admission. Craving was measured with the Obsessive-Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS) and depression with the Self-Rating-Depression-Scale (SDS). Correlations and partial correlations of the subscales were analysed with parametric or non-parametric tests. Results: Craving assessed with the OCDS-sum score decreased between day 1 (30.9 ± 8.8) and day 14 (24.3 ± 8.6, p<0.01). The sum score of the Self-Rating-Depression-Scale (SDS) decreased significantly between day 1 (47.4 ± 8.8) and day 14 (40.1 ± 10.1, p<0.01). There was a significant correlation between the SDS- and OCDS-sum scores both at the first and the 14th day after admission (r=0.62 / 0.44; p<0.01). These correlations persisted when the following variables were controlled for by using a partial correlation method: sex, age, years since first alcohol re