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Bridget M. Kuehn

JAMA. 2007;298(8):853.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Scientists from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) have identified 5 distinct subtypes of alcoholism, some of which defy the traditional stereotype of alcoholism.

Scientists analyzing data from a large survey of individuals in the United States have identified 5 distinct subtypes of alcoholism. (Photo credit: Nick Free/iStockphoto.com)

In the past, efforts to identify subtypes of alcoholism have relied on data from individuals receiving treatment for the condition. But only about 25% of alcoholics ever receive treatment (Dawson DA et al. Addiction. 2005;100[3]:281-292), so subtypes derived from samples of individuals in treatment are likely to be skewed. To get a representative picture of alcoholism subtypes, the NIAAA scientists analyzed the responses of nearly 1500 individuals with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(Fourth Edition) (DSM-IV) alcohol dependence who responded to the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and . . . [Full Text of this Article]