Alcohol and depression

Abstract

The relationship of alcohol and depression has always been a subject of clinical and scientific interest. Though many studies have been carried out to clarify the mode of this relationship it still remains in its complexity an area for further research. The two basic ideas of a possible connection are on one hand symptomatic alcoholism with a preexisting depression and on the other hand alcoholism leading to a symptomatic depression. There is in literature a great variability of results with regard to this problem which will be discussed in view of the results of an own study on 444 chronic alcoholic patients.