Caffeine and alcohol addiction similar

Dec 5 2005

According to a new study caffeine loving women with a family history of alcohol abuse will have a hard time kicking the coffee habit when they are pregnant.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, wanted to find out whether caffeine dependence and a family history of alcoholism were linked with the continued use of caffeine during pregnancy.

Previous studies have linked heavy caffeine use during pregnancy with a number of problems, including reduced fetal growth and miscarriage.

In their study they asked forty-four pregnant women to complete questionnaires and provide saliva samples at three prenatal visits.

At their first visit the patients were given advice from the doctor to stop taking caffeine,and information was collected as to caffeine dependence and family history of alcoholism.

Self-reported levels of caffeine use and saliva caffeine levels at the three prenatal visits were recorded.

None of the women had apparently been treated for alcohol problems or were currently using alcohol.

It appeared that although most women eliminated or substantially reduced their caffeine consumption between pregnancy awareness and their first prenatal visit, those with a lifetime diagnosis of caffeine dependence and a family history of alcoholism had higher levels of caffeine use and lower rates of abstinence throughout pregnancy.

Withdrawal symptoms, functional impairment, and craving were cited as reasons they failed to eliminate or cut back on caffeine use.

It was found that as many as fifty percent of the women with both a lifetime diagnosis of caffeine dependence and a family history of alcoholism continued to use caffeine in amounts greater than those considered safe during pregnancy, compared to none of the women without caffeine dependence and a family history of alcoholism.

Women with a lifetime diagnosis of caffeine dependence and a family history of alcoholism also reported higher rates of past cigarette smoking and problematic alcohol use.

The team came to the conclusion that these women with a family history of alcoholism were not able to follow their physician’s advice to reduce or eliminate caffeine consumption during pregnancy, despite their wanting to do so.

Study co-lead author Roland R. Griffiths, professor in the departments of psychiatry and neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, says the study helps to confirm that caffeine dependence is a clinically significant phenomenon, and it's powerful dependence is seen in this study.

The researchers say that this group will need more intensive intervention to ensure caffeine abstinence and may be at greater risk for abuse of or dependence on other drugs.

The new research suggests that caffeine and alcoholic addiction may have similar neurological roots, and that genetic vulnerability reflected in a family history of alcoholism may also be at the root of the inability to stop caffeine use, says Griffiths.

The study is published in the December issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.