CYCLES OF ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE - FREQUENCY-DOMAIN ANALYSES OF DAILY DRINKING LOGS FOR MATCHED ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT AND NONDEPENDENT SUBJECTS

Objective: This study was undertaken to evaluate possible differences in the patterns of daily alcohol use, in terms of periodicity or rhyth micity of consumption, between alcohol-dependent and nondependent drin kers otherwise matched on the basis of quantity and frequency of alcoh ol use. Method: Frequency-domain time-series analysis was applied to d aily drinking logs of six alcohol-dependent and six nondependent male subjects matched for consumption quantity and frequency who had partic ipated in a larger 112-day study of alcohol consumption patterns using an innovative touch-tone telephone method of daily self-report. Spect ral analysis partitioned variance in the drinking logs among statistic ally independent frequency cycles of relatively heavier and lighter dr inking. The percentage of variance accounted for by fast (<4 days), me dium (7 +/- 3 days) and slow (>10 days) cycle periods was compared for diagnostic group differences. Results: Effective matching precluded c onsumption quantity, frequency or variability differences between the groups. Spectral analysis of the time-series data revealed group diffe rences in the rhythmicity, or cyclical characteristics, of the drinkin g logs. The drinking logs of alcohol-dependent subjects exhibited more pronounced weekly cycles, whereas drinking logs of nondependent subje cts fluctuated over longer periods. Conclusions: Temporal patterns of regular alcohol use may be an important behavioral variable influencin g the seriousness of consequences associated with drinking, which may partly elucidate the relatively weak relationship between dependence s ymptomatology and consumption quantity-frequency.