Risk factors for depression and anxiety in abstainers, moderate drinkers and heavy drinkers

Aims. To identify risk factors for depression and anxiety that are more pre valent in abstainers than in moderate drinkers and to estimate their contri bution to U-shaped relationships of depression and anxiety with alcohol con sumption. Design. Cross-sectional general population sample. Setting. Canbe rra, Australia. Participants. 2725 subjects completed questionnaires, inclu ding 1128 men and 1258 women aged 18-59 years. Measurements. Consumption ca tegories from AUDIT quantity/frequency items: (1) non-drinkers (no alcohol in the past year), (2) occasional drinkers (monthly or less), (3) lower-lev el drinkers (up to 14 standard drinks per week for men and seven for women) , (4) higher-level drinkers (up to 28 and 14 standard drinks per week, resp ectively), and (5) those drinking at hazardous or harmful levels (over 28 a nd 14 standard drinks per week, respectively). Goldberg and DSSI/sAD depres sion and anxiety scales. A range of demographic, socio-economic, socio-envi ronmental and personality factors. Findings. Non-drinkers were more likely than lower-level drinkers to have low status occupations, poor education, c urrent financial hardship, poor social support and recent stressful life ev ents, and scored lower on extraversion, fun-seeking and drive. Many of thes e characteristics also applied to hazardous/harmful drinkers. In multivaria te models, these risk factors accounted for a substantial parr of the highe r depression and anxiety scores of non-drinkers and occasional drinkers rel ative to lower-level drinkers. Conclusions. Abstainers have a range of char acteristics known to be associated with anxiety, depression and other facet s of ill health, and these factors may contribute significantly to their el evated levels of depression and anxiety.