Updated daily
View our work on COVID-19 vaccinations

Mental health as a risk factor for alcohol dependency or abuse

Increased risk of developing alcohol dependency or abuse in individuals with a given mental health disorder relative to those without. A value of 3.2 for PTSD, for
example, would indicate that individuals with PTSD are 3.2 times as likely to develop alcohol dependency relative to those without.

0123456Intermittent explosive disorder6Dysthymia (persistent, mild depression)4.1Oppositional defiant disorder3.9Bipolar disorder3.6Social phobia3.3Panic disorder3.2Any anxiety disorder3.2Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)3.2Any disruptive behaviour disorder2.8Specific phobia2.7Separation anxiety2.7Antisocial personality disorder2.4Agoraphobia2.3Conduct disorder2Any mood disorder1.8Attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD)1.8Major depression1.6Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)1.6

Source: Swendsen et al. (2010)