How common is depression in people with alcohol problems?
• Up to 40 per cent of people who drink heavily have symptoms that resemble a depressive illness. • However, when these same people are not drinking heavily, only 5 per cent of men and 10 per cent of woman have symptoms meeting the diagnostic criteria for depression – not that different from the rates of depression in the general population. • About 5 to 10 per cent of people with a depressive illness also have symptoms of an alcohol problem.
