Relationship between impulsiveness and depressive symptoms in alcohol-dependent patients

Introduction Impulsiveness is considered to be an important symptom of many psychiatric disorders and is often treated as one of the diagnostic criteria. Relationship between impulsivity and severity of depressive symptoms in alcohol-dependent individuals hasn’t been investigated yet, although both are considered to be important risk factors of relapse. Objectives The aim of this study was to analyze relationships between depressive symptoms and level of behavioral as well as cognitive impulsiveness among alcohol-dependent patients. Methods By means of Barratt's Impulsiveness Scale and stop-signal task the level of impulsivity among 304 alcohol-dependent patients was measured. Stop-signal task was used as an independent, manipulation-free method of estimating the level of behavioral impulsiveness, and the Barratt's Impulsiveness Scale - as a self report measure of global as well as cognitive impulsivity. Patients were asked to fill in a questionnaire to asses depressive symptoms (BDI, BHS). Results The statistical analysis revealed significant association between impulsiveness and severity of depressive symptoms. Individuals with higher scores in BDI scale were more impulsive in Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (r = 0,473; p < 0,0005), whereas patients with higher scores in BHS appeared to be more impulsive in both: stop-signal task (r = 0,21; p = 0,001) and BIS (r = 0,281; p < 0,0005). Depressive symptoms in both measures correlated most with indicators of attention impulsivity in BIS (r = 0,541; p < 0,0005 for BDI and r = 0,312; p < 0,0005 for BHS). Conclusion High level of impulsiveness may be treated as an element of depressive disorder in alcohol dependent patients.