외상 후 스트레스 장애 환자의 음주와 음주동기

Alcohol Use and Drinking Motives in Patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Objectives：Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops in response to catastrophic life events. Alcohol abuse or dependence is the most common co-occurring disorder among men with PTSD, and possible functional correlations are suspected. Therefore, we conducted this study to identify the differences in drinking patterns and motives between patients with PTSD and a combat exposed control group. Methods：We recruited 92 veterans patients with PTSD and 79 veterans without PTSD for a control group, who had all experienced combat trauma in the Vietnam War. A detailed history of alcohol use, the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), Clinician-administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), Combat Exposure Scale (CES) and Drink-ing Motive Questionnaire were obtained from all participants. Results：Patients with PTSD consumed alcohol longer and more frequently than those in the control group. In the PTSD group, the AUDIT scores and coping motives were significantly higher than in the control group (p<0.01). The difference in coping motive was still significant after adjusting for AUDIT score using multi-variate analysis of covariance. There were no significant differences in enhancement, social, and conformity motives between groups. Conclusion：Our data support the hypothesis that patients with PTSD drink to cope with the negative affects including symptoms of PTSD. These results suggest that treatment of symptoms of PTSD may be important for optimizing the outcomes for patients with comorbid PTSD and alcohol use disorders.