Review of: Hammerton G et al, Lancet Psychiatry 2023;10:490–498

Study Type: Prospective cohort study

What happens during our teenage years can affect us down the road. This study from England looked at whether alcohol dependence during those formative years is a marker for greater risk of depression in one’s twenties.

The researchers followed a group of young people born in the early 1990s, gathering data on their drinking habits from ages 16 to 23. They used a series of surveys, including the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, to measure frequency of drinking and dependence on alcohol. The endpoint was to check for onset of depression up until age 24. Statistical adjustments were made for confounding variables, including “sex, housing tenure, maternal education, maternal depressive symptoms, parents’ alcohol use, conduct problems at age 4 years, being bullied from age 12–16 years, and frequency of smoking cigarettes or cannabis.”

About 3,902 participants stayed through the duration of the study. Due to the statistical model chosen, alcohol dependence and consumption could not be directly compared, and neither the frequency nor the quantity of drinking predicted depression later on. Still, after adjustment for confounding factors (eg, sex, problematic parental alcohol use, comorbid tobacco/cannabis use at age 16), there was a statistically significant association between alcohol dependence at age 18 and subsequent depression at age 24 (p=0.019), although the strength of that association was difficult to assess.

Carlat Take

This study highlights the need to assess for and address alcohol use in teens (see CCPR July/Aug/Sept 2021 for more) and look for signs of alcohol dependence to help prevent depression. Early interventions could be key in preventing long-term depressive disorders.