From childhood trauma to alcohol use disorder severity - significance of depressive symptoms and expectations towards analgesic effects of alcohol.

AIMS: The objective of the current study was to describe and analyse associations between childhood emotional abuse, severity of depressive symptoms, and analgesic expectations of drinking in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD). METHODS: A total of 240 individuals aged 43.85 ± 11.0 with severe AUD entering an inpatient, abstinence-based, and drug-free treatment program were assessed. The data on AUD severity, depressive symptoms, expectations towards the analgesic effects of alcohol and childhood emotional trauma was collected using questionnaire measures. The PROCESS SPSS macro for serial mediation with bootstrapping was used to test whether current severity of depressive symptoms and expectations towards analgesic effects of alcohol use serially mediated the association between childhood emotional abuse on AUD symptom severity. RESULTS: There was evidence for two simple mediated effects, whereby the severity of depressive symptoms mediated the association between childhood emotional abuse on AUD symptom severity, and expectations towards analgesic effects of alcohol mediated the association between childhood emotional abuse on AUD symptom severity. There was also evidence to support serial mediation whereby both severity of depressive symptoms and expectations towards analgesic effects of alcohol mediated the association between childhood emotional abuse on AUD symptom severity. CONCLUSIONS: It might be clinically relevant to address experiences of childhood emotional trauma, as well as individual expectations of analgesic effects of alcohol, in AUD treatment programs.

The synergistic effect between interoceptive accuracy and alcohol use disorder status on pain sensitivity.

BACKGROUND: Interoceptive accuracy and pain sensitivity are both risk factors in the development of alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, the synergistic association between these two factors has not been investigated in an AUD sample. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate whether the association between interoceptive accuracy and sensitivity to pain differed across AUD status. METHODS: The study group included 165 individuals diagnosed with AUD (88.1% men) and 110 healthy controls (HCs; 74.5% men). Interoceptive accuracy was assessed with the Schandry Task. The Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire was utilized to measure sensitivity to pain. Anxiety, biological sex, and age were included as covariates in a model examining the role of AUD status as a moderator in the association between interoceptive accuracy and pain sensitivity. RESULTS: A significant interaction was found between interoceptive accuracy and AUD status (b = -4.580, 95% CI = [-8.137, -1.022], p = 0.012, ΔR2 = 0.032). Findings indicate that interoceptive accuracy was negatively associated with pain sensitivity among individuals with AUD, while there was a trend for an opposite association among healthy controls. CONCLUSION: We hypothesize that persistent alcohol drinking may contribute to disruption of the normative association between interoception and pain. Future studies should be conducted to develop knowledge on this association and to investigate its possible therapeutic significance and implications.

Psychometric properties of the polish version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT).

BACKGROUND: Alcohol consumption is one of the risk factors associated with over 200 types of diseases, being strongly correlated with unemployment, low socioeconomic status, traffic accidents, and violence. Alcohol is also one of the main causes of premature deaths, especially among males. Early diagnosis based on screening may help to prevent the evolution from alcohol misuse to dependence by counseling or treatment. METHODS: 1024 participants took part in the study: 300 of alcohol dependents and 724 of controls (405 students and 319 patients from General Practice) (M ± SD age = 33.7 ± 15.4 years). Finally, group of 877 participants were included to the statistical analysis due to the missing data - 453 were male and 424 were female. The median AUDIT score was 17 (IQR = 11). RESULTS: Correlation analysis showed that AUDIT scores were strongly correlated with MAST (rho = 0.764, p < 0.001) and CAGE scores (rho = 759, p < 0.001). The ROC analysis resulted in an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.95 (p < 0.001; 95 % C.I.: 0.936-0.963). The cutoff point of 22 for alcohol dependence corresponded to a sensitivity of 0.893 and a specificity of 0.863. CONCLUSION: According to our results, the AUDIT scale proved to be a useful tool with high sensitivity and specificity and therefore can be used as a valid screening measure in Poland.

Association Between Interoception and Emotion Regulation in Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder.

INTRODUCTION: Sensing body-related information includes interoceptive sensibility (the tendency to focus on internal body sensations) and accuracy (precision in perceiving real internal processes). Interoception and emotion regulation have both been linked to alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, the association between these factors have not been investigated within a clinical group of individuals with AUD. OBJECTIVES: The current study examines associations between emotion regulation and interoceptive accuracy and sensibility among individuals with AUD and healthy controls (HCs). METHODS: The sample comprised 165 individuals meeting criteria for AUD and 110 HCs. Interoceptive sensibility was assessed with a self-report measure (the Private Body Consciousness subscale) and interoceptive accuracy - with a behavioral measure (the Schandry test). Emotion regulation domains: non-acceptance of negative emotions, inability to engage in goal-directed behaviors when experiencing negative emotions, difficulties controlling impulsive behaviors when experiencing negative emotions, limited access to effective emotion regulation strategies, and lack of own emotional awareness and clarity were assessed with the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Associations between interoception and emotion regulation were assessed while controlling for sleep problems, depressive symptoms, age, and sex. RESULTS: Higher interoceptive accuracy was negatively associated with DERS subscale of non-acceptance of negative emotions in the AUD group (but not in the HC group). Higher interoceptive sensibility was significantly associated with problems in controlling impulsive behaviors when experiencing negative emotions. This association was moderated by symptoms of AUD. Higher interoceptive sensibility was associated with higher emotional awareness, but only in the HC group. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with AUD who are more interoceptively accurate may be more effective in regulating their emotions. On the other hand, individuals with AUD who are more interoceptively sensible, may have problems with controlling their behaviors while experiencing negative emotional states.

Immune malfunction in the GPR39 zinc receptor of knockout mice: Its relationship to depressive disorder.

Depression is a serious psychiatric disorder affecting not only the monaminergic, glutamatergic, and GABAergic neurosystems, but also the immune system. Patients suffering from depression show disturbance in the immune parameters as well as increased susceptibility to infections. Zinc is well known as an anti-inflammatory agent, and its link with depression has been proved, zinc deficiency causing depression- and anxiety-like behavior with immune malfunction. It has been discovered that trace-element zinc acts as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system via zinc receptor GPR39. In this study we investigated whether GPR39 knockout would cause depressive-like behavior as measured by the forced swim test, and whether these changes would coexist with immune malfunction. In GPR39 knockout mice versus a wild-type control we found: i) depressive-like behavior; ii) significantly reduced thymus weight; (iii) reduced cell viability of splenocytes; iv) reduced proliferative response of splenocytes; and v) increased IL-6 production of splenocytes after ConA stimulation and decreased IL-1b and IL-6 release after LPS stimulation. The results indicate depressive-like behavior in GPR39 KO animals with an immune response similar to that observed in depressive disorder. Here for the first time we show immunological changes under GPR39-deficient conditions.