Pharmacopsychiatry 2003; 36 - 304
DOI: 10.1055/s-2003-825547

The course of psychiatric comorbidity in chronic alcoholics and its impact on abstinence during 4-year follow-up of integrated outpatient treatment

T Wagner 1, H Krampe 1, S Stawicki 1, J Reinhold 1, H Jahn 1, K Mahlke 1, C Galwas 1, U Barth 1, C Aust 1, B Kröner-Herwig 2, E Brunner 3, W Poser 1, FA Henn 4, E Rüther 1, H Ehrenreich 1
  • 1Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie der Georg-August-Universitìt und Max-Planck-Institut für experimentelle Medizin, Göttingen
  • 2Psychologisches Institut der Georg-August-Universitìt, Abteilung für Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie, Göttingen
  • 3Abteilung für Medizinische Statistik der Georg-August-Universitìt, Göttingen
  • 4Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit, Mannheim

This prospective treatment study examines (1) the course of comorbid Axis I disorders in 89 severely affected chronic alcoholics over 2 years in the Outpatient Long-term Intensive Therapy for Alcoholics (OLITA 1, 2, 3), and (2) the effect of comorbid Axis I and II disorders on subsequent drinking outcome over a 4-year follow-up.

Axis I disorders remit from t1 (59.0% ill), t2 (38.5%), t3 (28.2%) to t4 (12.8%). During the 4-year follow-up, the cumulative probability of not having relapsed amounts to .59. Two predictors have a strong negative impact on abstinence probability: previous inpatient detoxifications and personality disorders.

The present study demonstrates a striking remission of comorbid Axis I disorders during comprehensive long-term outpatient alcoholism treatment. The presence of an Axis II rather than an Axis I disorder on admission strongly predicts drinking outcome over a 4-year follow-up.

1. Ehrenreich, H. et al. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 247 (1997) 51–54

2. Krampe, H. et al. Psychotherapeut 46 (2001) 232–242

3. Wagner, T. et al. (in press)