*Prakasham. S, 2Aasha. S, 3Manivannan. R
A B S T R A C T
Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) often co-occurs with depression, affecting quality of life (QoL). It leads to social and occupational losses, disability, suicidality, and care-seeking barriers. Understanding the relationship between alcohol use severity and depressive symptoms can prioritize screening, guide interventions, and improve person-centered care. Quantify associations between alcohol-use severity and WHOQOL-BREF domains; test depressive symptoms (HAM-D) as mediator/moderator; and obtain covariate-adjusted estimates. Crosssectional study of 175 adults in psychiatry/de-addiction services. Measures: AUDIT, HAM-D, WHOQOL-BREF; covariates: age, residence, education, occupation. Analyses: ANCOVA, multivariable linear regression, interaction testing, and product-of-coefficients mediation. Mean domain scores indicated broad QoL impairment. Across alcohol-severity tiers, most participants had at least one domain below 50. In adjusted regression, higher depression severity was associated with worse Physical QoL, whereas AUDIT effects were minimal; Psychological, Social, and Environment domains showed no robust adjusted associations. A small AUDIT×HAM-D interaction emerged in the Physical domain. Safety signals included suicidality and medical/psychiatric comorbidity. Mediation suggested small, imprecise indirect effects of alcohol severity via depression. In this clinical AUD cohort, QoL was impaired across domains. Depressive symptoms were the more consistent correlate, especially for Physical QoL, than alcohol-use severity, underscoring the value of integrated screening and treatment in AUD services. Embedding AUDIT, HAM-D, and WHOQOL-BREF in routine workflows may meaningfully improve patient-centered outcomes and inform service design in comparable settings.
Keywords: Alcohol Use Disorder, Depression, Quality of Life, WHOQOL – BREF, HAM -D.