Alcohol misuse and report of recent depressive symptoms among ED patients

ObjectiveThis study examined the magnitude of association between alcohol misuse and recent depressive symptoms.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of 412 randomly selected patients at least 18 years old and seeking emergency department (ED) care.ResultsOf the patients, 51.0% reported depressive symptoms. At-risk drinking was reported by 26.0%, and 28.2% scored positive on the Rapid Alcohol Problems Screen 4. Alcohol abuse and binge drinking were reported by 25.1% and 28%, respectively, of the patients. According to our results, at-risk drinking (odds ratio [OR] = 2.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.47-4.20, P ≤ .001), problem drinking (OR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.27-3.51, P ≤ .004), drinking abuse (OR = 2.58, 95% CI = 1.51-4.40, P < .001), and binge drinking (OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.13-3.15, P < .001) were all related to the manifestation of depressive symptoms.ConclusionsThe findings of this study yield information that could be used by ED health care practitioners and health educators to educate ED patients at risk for alcohol misuse and depression.