Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research, Academic Medical Center University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2013 Aug;37(8):1343-50. doi: 10.1111/acer.12103. Epub 2013 Mar 12.
Recent research findings suggest that heavy alcohol use is associated with alterations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and autonomic nervous system function and that early abstinence is associated with blunted stress responsiveness.
This study investigated abstinent alcohol-dependent participants (AADs; n = 31), who had a drinking history of levels about 97 drinks per week (abstinence range: 2 weeks to 24 months), actively drinking problem drinkers (PRDs; n = 23), who reported drinking levels about 47 drinks per week and who were abstinent for at least 24 hours, and healthy control (HC) participants (n = 20). It was investigated how participants responded to a psychosocial stress task. All of them were exposed to a modified Trier Social Stress Test. Salivary cortisol, heart rate, skin conductance levels, and negative affect were assessed as stress indicators.
AADs showed stress reactions comparable to HC participants, whereas active PRDs showed increased heart rate and cortisol stress responses. In the AAD group, duration of abstinence was positively related to cortisol stress responses.
Active PRDs showed increased responses to psychosocial stress. Results indicate that duration of abstinence is a key factor when analyzing and interpreting stress responses in alcohol abuse and dependence.
最近的研究结果表明，大量饮酒与下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴和自主神经系统功能的改变有关，而早期戒断与应激反应迟钝有关。
本研究调查了 31 名有饮酒史的酒精依赖患者（AAD），他们每周饮酒约 97 杯（戒断范围：2 周到 24 个月），以及 23 名有饮酒问题但处于积极戒断状态的饮酒者（PRD），他们报告每周饮酒约 47 杯，且已至少戒断 24 小时，同时还纳入了 20 名健康对照组（HC）参与者。研究了参与者如何对心理社会应激任务做出反应。所有参与者都接受了改良的特里尔社会应激测试。唾液皮质醇、心率、皮肤电导水平和负性情绪被评估为应激指标。
AAD 组的应激反应与 HC 组相似，而活跃的 PRD 组则表现出心率和皮质醇应激反应增加。在 AAD 组中，戒断时间与皮质醇应激反应呈正相关。
活跃的 PRD 组对心理社会应激的反应增加。结果表明，在分析和解释酒精滥用和依赖中的应激反应时，戒断时间是一个关键因素。
