A COMPARITIVE STUDY OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS IN PATIENTS WITH EARLY AND LATE ONSET ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE
Main Article Content
Keywords
Alcohol, Early and Late onset alcohol dependence, Executive functions
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Regular alcohol consumption has been linked to notable structural and functional alterations in the brain, particularly in the prefrontal cortex and related networks, which ultimately lead to deficiencies in executive functioning (1,2) and need to be compared between individuals having early vs late onset alcohol dependence.
AIM: To estimate and compare the executive functions among patients with early onset versus late onset alcohol dependence syndrome.
METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was carried out among randomly selected 60 participants who were diagnosed with alcohol dependence syndrome as per ICD-10(DCR) criteria, severity of alcohol dependence was assessed via Severity of alcohol dependence questionnaire(SADQ), executive functions assessed in the study included Attention which was assessed via Digit span test, concentration assessed via Serial subtraction test and working memory assessed via Rey auditory verbal learning test (RAVLT) and comparative analysis of executive functions between early and late onset alcohol dependence groups was done.
RESULTS: A total of 60 participants 30 participants in each group were assessed and results compared that showed no significant association found between the onset of alcohol dependence and attention, as indicated by a Pearson Chi-Square value of 1.714 and a p-value of 0.19.There was no significant association found between the onset of alcohol dependence and concentration, as indicated by a Pearson Chi-Square value of 1.833 and a p-value of 0.4. The early-onset group achieved an average score of 6.1 on the RAVLT (Immediate recall), whereas the late-onset group had a slightly higher average score of 6.47. The p-value was 0.577, suggesting that there is no significant difference. The average scores for the RAVLT (Learning) were almost the same for both groups. The early-onset group scored 5.9, while the late-onset group scored 5.97. The p-value was 0.923, indicating that there is no significant difference.The early-onset group achieved an average score of 5.97 on the RAVLT (Forgetting), whereas the late-onset group obtained an average score of 6.13. The p-value was 0.826, suggesting that there is no significant difference.
CONCLUSION: The executive functioning does not show significant differences depending on the age of onset. These findings underscore the significance of addressing alcohol use early on and emphasize the necessity of thorough cognitive evaluations and personalized rehabilitation programs for individuals with alcohol dependence, regardless of when it started.
References
2. Harper C. The neurotoxicity of alcohol. Hum Exp Toxicol. 2007 Mar;26(3):251-7.
3. Stavro K, Pelletier J, Potvin S. Widespread and sustained cognitive deficits in alcoholism: a meta-analysis. Addict Biol. 2013 Jan;18(2):203-13.
4. De Bellis MD, Clark DB, Beers SR, Soloff PH, Boring AM, Hall J, et al. Hippocampal volume in adolescent-onset alcohol use disorders. Am J Psychiatry. 2000 Oct;157(5):737-44.
5. Fein G, Bachman L, Fisher S, Davenport L. Cognitive impairments in abstinent alcoholics. West J Med. 1990 Dec;152(5):531-7.
6. Cooper JE, World Health Organization. Pocket guide to the ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioural disorders: With glossary and diagnostic criteria for research: ICD-10/DCR-10. American Psychiatric Pub; 1994.
7. Kar S, Gupta P, Das A, Dalal P. Externalizing psychopathology and cognitive functions in patients with early- and late-onset alcohol dependence. Indian Journal of Psychiatry/Indian Journal of Psychiatry 2021;63:233. https://doi.org/10.4103/psychiatry. indianjpsychiatry_ 462_20.
8. Kist N, Sandjojo J, Kok R, Van den Berg JF. Cognitive functioning in older adults with early, late, and very late onset alcohol dependence. Int Psychogeriatr. 2014;26:1863-9.
9. Joos L, Schmaal L, Goudriaan AE, Fransen E, Van den Brink W, Sabbe BG, Dom G. Age of onset and neuropsychological functioning in alcohol dependent inpatients. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2013;37(3):407-16.
10. Boelema SR, Harakeh Z, van Zandvoort MV, Reijneveld S, Verhulst F, Ormel J, Vollebergh W. Executive functioning before and after onset of alcohol use disorder in adolescence. A TRAILS study. J Psychiatry Res. 2016;78:78-85. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2016.03.014.
11. Chen YC, Prescott CA, Walsh D, Patterson DG, Riley BP, Kendler KS, Kuo PH. Different phenotypic and genotypic presentations in alcohol dependence: age at onset matters. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2011;72(5):752-62.
12. Saikia B, Tripathi R. Executive Functions, Processing Speed, and Memory Performance: Untangling the Age-related Effects. Journal of Psychiatry Spectrum 2023;3:12–9. https://doi.org/10.4103/jopsys.jopsys_13_23.
13. Gupta A, Singh N, Sattar Fa, K Kk, B S. Personality Profile In Early-Onset And Late-Onset Typologies Of Alcohol Dependence Syndrome. Paripex Indian Journal Of Research 2023:58–62. https://doi.org/10.36106/paripex/1805227.
14. Stockwell, T., Hodgson, R., Edwards, G., Taylor, C., & Rankin, H. (1979). The development of a questionnaire to measure severity of alcohol dependence. British Journal of Addiction, 74(1), 79–87. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1979.tb02415.x
15. Rey A. L'examen psychologique dans les cas d'encephalopathie traumatique. Archives de psychologie. 1941;28:286-340.
16. Wambach, D., Lamar, M., Swenson, R., Penney, D.L., Kaplan, E., Libon, D.J. (2011). Digit Span. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1288
17. Smith A. The serial sevens subtraction test. Archives of Neurology. 1967 Jul 1;17(1):78-80.
18. Kolakowsky-Hayner, S.A. (2011). Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1913
19. Varela, J. L., Magnante, A. T., Miskey, H. M., Ord, A. S., Eldridge, A., & Shura, R. D. (2024). A systematic review of the utility of continuous performance tests among adults with ADHD. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 1–62. https://doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2024.2315740
20. Peshkovskaya A. Heterogeneity of changes in executive cognitive functions in people with different alcohol use experiences. Vektor nauki Tol'yattinskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya Pedagogika i psihologiya. 2023;2:53-60
Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All articles published in JPTCP are licensed under Copyright Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Aayush Srivastav
Junior Resident, Department of Psychiatry, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education(MAHE), Manipal
Priyanka Renita D'Souza
Assistant Professor, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education(MAHE), Manipal
Bharath Reddy
Junior Resident, Department of Psychiatry, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education(MAHE), Manipal