14 DAY TRIAL // Some may feel offended if called alcoholics. And for good reason, as a new research made at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) established a first classification of the alcoholic people in US, resulting five distinct subtypes of the condition.
"Our findings should help dispel the popular notion of the 'typical alcoholic. We find that young adults comprise the largest group of alcoholics in this country, and nearly 20 % of alcoholics are highly functional and well-educated with good incomes. More than half of the alcoholics in the US have no multigenerational family history of the disease, suggesting that their form of alcoholism was unlikely to have genetic causes," signaled the first author Dr. Howard B. Moss, NIAAA Associate Director for Clinical and Translational Research.
"Clinicians have long recognized diverse manifestations of alcoholism, and researchers have tried to understand why some alcoholics improve with specific medications and psychotherapies while others do not. The classification system described in this study will have broad application in both clinical and research settings," adds NIAAA Director Dr. Ting-Kai Li.
Previous researches tried to make a classification focused just on alcoholism subtypes only on individuals hospitalized or receiving treatment for their condition. Still, just 25 % of individuals with alcoholism have ever visited a clinic for treatment, and the great majority of the people with alcoholism problems are not included in those researches. The new analysis has been based on the 1,484 respondents diagnosed for alcohol dependence, both in treatment or not seeking treatment.
The team made its novel classification based on the subjects' family history of alcoholism, age of onset of regular drinking and alcohol related problems, patterns of alcohol craving and abuse, the use of additional drugs and mental conditions:
Subtype 1: Young Adult, making 31.5 % of US alcoholics. They are characterized by relatively low rates of simultaneous drug abuse and other mental conditions, low rates of family alcoholism, and they rarely seek any kind of alcoholic treatment.
Subtype 2: Young Antisocial, 21 % of U.S. alcoholics. They are usually in their mid-twenties, with precocious onset of regular drinking, and alcohol related issues. Over 50 % come from families with alcoholism problems, and about 50 % have an Antisocial Personality Disorder, and a major depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety problems.
Over 75 % smoke cigarettes and marijuana, and a large percent also had cocaine or heroin addictions. More than 30 % of them look for help.
Subtype 3: Functional, represents 19.5 % of US alcoholics. Usually middle-aged, well-educated, with stable jobs and families. Approximately 33 % present a multigenerational family history of alcoholism, about 25 % presented major depressive illness during their lifespan, and about 50 % were smokers.
Subtype 4: Intermediate Familial, 19 % of US alcoholics. Middle-aged, approximately coming from multigenerational alcoholism. About 50 % have presented clinical depression, and 20 % bipolar disorder.
Most of them smoked cigarettes, and about 20 % abused of cocaine and marijuana. Just 25 % looked for a cure. Subtype 5. Chronic Severe subtype: 9 % of U.S. alcoholics. The majority are middle-aged individuals with early onset of drinking and alcohol related issues, with high rates of Antisocial Personality Disorder and criminality; 80 % presented multigenerational alcoholism.
They were the most prone to psychiatric conditions and drug abuse. 70% of them looked for help, forming the main category in alcoholic treatment. The co-existence of psychiatric and drug abuse issues were linked with severity of alcoholism and the date of beginning the treatment. Help-seeking was found to be relatively rare, people choosing mainly to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and participate in other 12-step programs.