Affective disorders, anxiety disorders and psychological distress in non-drinkers

BackgroundNon-drinkers have elevated levels of psychological distress but a recent study reported no elevation in prevalence of diagnosed disorders. We aimed to determine the prevalence of affective and anxiety disorders (from the CIDI-A) in current abstainers and contrast results with findings for psychological distress (K10) in the same sample.MethodsCross-sectional, representative household survey of adult Australians.ResultsNon-/occasional drinkers had higher levels of psychological distress than light drinkers, and distress in heavy drinkers was even higher. Heavy drinkers also had the highest rates of most disorders. Non-/occasional drinkers showed significantly elevated prevalence only of dysthymia, agoraphobia and posttraumatic stress disorder compared with light drinkers.LimitationsStatistical power was limited for investigating low prevalence disorders. History of alcohol consumption was not collected. The CIDI-A and K10 have finite validity.ConclusionsThis study confirmed J-shaped relationships between psychological distress and alcohol consumption. Although affective and anxiety disorders also showed non-linear relationships with alcohol consumption, non-/occasional drinkers are not at increased risk for all disorders compared to light drinkers. The pattern of symptomatology in non-/occasional drinkers may be of a different character to that in heavy drinkers, as well as being less severe.