The following is a summary of “Association between alcohol drinking frequency and depression among adults in the United States: a cross-sectional study,” published in the November 2024 issue of Psychiatry by Qi et al. 

Depression is a major health issue, and alcohol consumption is often linked to it. The relationship between alcohol frequency and depression remains unclear. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to explore the association between depression and alcohol drinking frequency. 

They collected NHANES data from 2009 to 2016, involving 17,466 participants. Depression was diagnosed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and alcohol drinking frequency was assessed through questionnaires. They used multifactorial logistic regression, subgroup analysis, smooth curve fitting, and threshold effect analysis to examine the link between alcohol drinking frequency and depression. 

The results showed that after adjusting for covariates, the Q3 group had the lowest odds of depression (OR = 0.68; 95% CI: 0.56–0.82; P < 0.05). Smooth curve fitting revealed an “M-shaped” relationship, with significant inflection points at 80 and 150. 

Investigators found an “M-shaped” relationship between alcohol frequency and depression. This may explain the varying effects of moderate alcohol consumption. 

Source: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-024-06296-9