FAMILIAL ALCOHOLISM IN MANIC-DEPRESSIVE (BIPOLAR) DISEASE

A previous analysis found a relatively high rate of alcoholism in a co hort of bipolar I subjects, and a trend for increased rates of alcohol ism in relatives of subjects with both bipolar I disorder and alcoholi sm, compared to relatives of subjects with bipolar I disorder and no a lcoholism. The sample of subjects with bipolar I disorder has been enl arged through continued follow-up, permitting new analyses to address the association and heritability of bipolar I disorder with alcoholism . Probands with bipolar I disorder were followed for 10 years as part of the NIMH Collaborative Depression Study. The rate of alcoholism in relatives of probands with both bipolar I disorder and alcoholism was compared to the rate of alcoholism in relatives of probands with bipol ar disorder and no alcoholism. The prevalence of alcoholism in relativ es of subjects with bipolar I disorder was compared to the rate of alc oholism in relatives of control subjects, Relatives of probands with b ipolar I disorder showed a higher rate of alcoholism than relatives of controls. Relatives of probands with bipolar I disorder and alcoholis m showed a higher rate of alcoholism than relatives of probands with b ipolar I disorder without alcoholism. These data suggest that familial alcoholism may contribute to a vulnerability to bipolar I disorder, a nd that there is a shared heritability for the two disorders. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.