Alcoholism and Psychiatric Disorders: Diagnostic Challenges

Clinicians working with alcohol-abusing or alcohol-dependent patients sometimes face a difficult task assessing their patient’s psychiatric complaints because heavy drinking associated with alcoholism can coexist with, contribute to, or result from several different psychiatric syndromes. In order to improve diagnostic accuracy, clinicians can follow an algorithm that distinguishes among alcohol-related psychiatric symptoms and signs, alcohol-induced psychiatric syndromes, and independent psychiatric disorders that are commonly associated with alcoholism. The patient’s gender, family history, and course of illness over time also should be considered to attain an accurate diagnosis. Moreover, clinicians need to remain flexible with their working diagnoses and revise them as needed while monitoring abstinence from alcohol.