Relating alcohol use and mood: results from the Tromsø study.

OBJECTIVE: The interrelationships between alcohol consumption and depressed mood were studied in a population to determine if the relationships differed by sex and consumption. METHOD: Alcohol consumption and mood were surveyed at a 7-year interval by self-report (N = 8,260; 4,407 women). Frequency of intoxication was used to divide the sample into moderate and immoderate drinkers. Structural equations modeling was then applied to describe the interrelationships of drinking and mood both cross-sectionally and over time. RESULTS: Overall, self-reported drinking was stable over a 7-year period, although drinking patterns were less stable for immoderate drinkers. Drinking predicted higher levels of depressed mood among the immoderate drinkers of both sexes at follow-up. Drinking also weakly predicted depressed mood among moderately consuming men. However, among moderately consuming women dysphoric mood predicted less drinking. Depressed mood was related to higher levels of concurrent drinking among the immoderately drinking men. Among immoderately drinking women, however, concurrent depressed mood predicted more drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Generally, drinking predicted subsequent depressed mood although this pattern was reversed among moderately drinking women. Furthermore, a synchronous effects model indicated that some immoderately drinking women used alcohol as a response to emotional distress. It appears that gender and the level of consumption need to be taken into account in studies relating mood and drinking.

The effect of moderate alcohol use on the relationship between stress and depression.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to determine whether moderate alcohol use mediates or buffers the effect of stress on depression in a group of non-Hispanic White men and women. METHODS: Data are from the Los Angeles Epidemiological Catchment Area cohort. Individuals were assessed at two time periods, 1 year apart. Mean depression scores were analyzed for each level of stress and alcohol use. RESULTS: In the simultaneous presence of both chronic strain and negative life events, a U-shaped pattern was observed in which abstainers and light and heavy drinkers had higher depression scores at the second time period than did light-moderate and moderate alcohol users. The U-shaped relationship remained when the effects of sex, age, and physical health status were controlled. CONCLUSIONS: Light-moderate and moderate drinkers had less depression in the presence of stress than persons in other more extreme drinking categories. Moderate alcohol use may serve as a proxy for a spectrum of generally moderate behaviors that either attenuate the effect of stress on depression or suppress the effects of stress.

Depressed mood and major depressive disorder in two ethnic groups.

This study examines the relation of depressive mood, measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale, with major depression, assessed using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule. Data are from 1244 Mexican American and 1149 non-Hispanic white randomly-selected community residents. Major depression is strongly related to depressed mood, irrespective of the persistence or content of mood, with some components of depressed mood (negative affect and somatic disturbance) more strongly associated with major depression than other components (lack of positive affect and interpersonal problems). Low socioeconomic status and social isolation contribute to depressed mood independent of major depression. Low education is associated with persistent depressed mood. Mexican Americans report more overall depressive mood than non-Hispanic whites, but there is no ethnic difference in major depression or in the mood symptoms most strongly related to major depression. Mexican Americans report more persistent symptoms than non-Hispanic whites in every content category. Ethnic differences in education appear to account for ethnic differences in all components of depressed mood except lack of positive affect, which may be attributable to language differences.