Table 1. Demographics and behavioral assessments of participants.
| Characteristic | Relapsers | Abstainers | Healthy controls | P Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participants (n) | 35 males | 21 males | 33 males | ─ |
| Age, mean (SD), y | 41.80 (9.53) | 45.95 (7.07) | 42.88 (6.05) | 0.15 |
| Education b, mean (SD), y | 11.43 (2.77) | 10.62 (3.46) | 9.09 (3.48) | 0.013 |
| Age of onset of drinking, y | 19.03 (3.19) | 20.81 (3.59) | ─ | 0.059 |
| Average dose of lifetime b, c (no. of drinksd/d) | 12.41 (4.76) | 12.04 (4.83) | 0.36 (0.49) | < 0.001 |
| Dose during peak use b, c (no. of drinksd/d) | 19.32 (6.71) | 17.65 (8.17) | 0.36 (0.49) | < 0.001 |
| Length of abstinence until MRI session, d | 42.38 (13.07) | 42.57 (9.12) | ─ | 0.95 |
| Smokers b, c, No. (%) | 31 (88.57) | 20 (95.24) | 21 (63.64) | 0.005 |
| Current cigarettes/d b, c, mean (SD), No. | 19.60 (11.80) | 19.71 (13.48) | 11.48 (12.43) | 0.014 |
| Duration of smoking b, c, mean (SD), y | 20.80 (11.74) | 25.90 (9.62) | 14.85 (12.37) | 0.003 |
| MAST scores a, b, c, mean (SD) | 33.46 (4.55) | 28.57 (5.02) | 1.09 (1.70) | < 0.001 |
| HAMA scores, mean (SD) | 2.97 (2.44) | 3.05 (2.29) | ─ | 0.91 |
| HAMD scores, mean (SD) | 3.09 (2.66) | 2.71 (2.45) | ─ | 0.61 |
| Barratt impulsiveness scale | ||||
| BIS-11 total scoresc, mean (SD) | 64.57 (9.61) | 61.90 (6.71) | 59.12 (6.59) | 0.022 |
| BIS-11 Nonplanning scores, mean (SD) | 27.40 (4.53) | 26.90 (4.65) | 26.21 (3.63) | 0.52 |
| BIS-11 Motor scores, mean (SD) | 21.83 (4.20) | 21.62 (3.46) | 20.73 (3.24) | 0.45 |
| BIS-11 Attention scores a, c, mean (SD) | 15.34 (3.40) | 13.38 (2.82) | 12.18 (1.96) | < 0.001 |
| Balloon analogue risk task | ||||
| Average adjusted pumps c, mean (SD), No. | 49.16 (16.91) | 42.88 (14.64) | 37.36 (19.19) | 0.026 |
Note: One-way ANOVA, t-test and Chi-square test were applied to test for group differences; statistical significance level was set at P < 0.05 (two-tailed). Significant P-values were in bold.
a P < 0.05, difference between relapsers and abstainers (one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni multiple comparison test)
b P < 0.05, difference between relapsers and healthy controls (one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni multiple comparison test)
c P < 0.05, difference between abstainers and healthy controls (one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni multiple comparison test)
d A drink contains 13.6 grams of pure alcohol. Abbreviations: MAST, Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (Selzer ML 1971); BIS-11, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 11th version (Patton JH et al. 1995); HAMA, Hamilton Anxiety Scale (Hamilton M 1959); HAMD, Hamilton Depressive Scale (Hamilton M 1960); MRI, magnetic resonance imaging