Citation

Bronisch T, Wittchen HU. Eur. Arch. Psychiatry Clin. Neurosci. 1992; 241(5): 273-282.

Affiliation

Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry, Clinical Institute, Munich, Federal Republic of Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

1606191

Abstract

This paper reports lifetime and 6-month prevalence rates of alcohol abuse and dependence in West Germany. Assessment instruments are a modified German version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS), a fully standardized interview for the assessment of selected DSM-III diagnoses and the Munich Alcoholism Test (MALT). According to the DIS/DSM-III criteria, 13.0% of the adult general population (aged 25-64 years) were found to fulfill the lifetime criteria for alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, or both; however, only 1.3% of all men and 0.9% of the women interviewed received a current DSM-III diagnosis of alcohol abuse or dependence. There was good consensus between current DSM-III diagnoses with current clinical ICD-diagnoses, but poor concordance with lifetime diagnoses. Symptoms of alcoholism, onset and severity, comorbidity with other DIS/DSM-III disorders as well as some selected risk factors are reported. The results are primarily compared with the results of the US-Epidemiological Catchment Area Program (ECA).

Language: en