Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32516487›Full record

SynthesisJournal of traumatic stress2020

A Systematic Review of the Self-Medication Hypothesis in the Context of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Comorbid Problematic Alcohol Use.

Sage E Hawn, Shannon E Cusack, Ananda B Amstadter

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of traumatic stress, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 136 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
136citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

136 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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76 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Sage E HawnVirginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8501-4169
Shannon E CusackVirginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
Ananda B AmstadterVirginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.

Funding

VCU NIMHD Comprehensive Center of Excellence (Project 1; PI: Strauss)P60MD002256 · NIMHD · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · PI STRAUSS, JEROME F · 2007 to 2016
$13.1M
Genetic Contributions of Negative Valence Systems to Internalizing PathwaysR01MH101518 · NIMH · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · PI ROBERSON-NAY, ROXANN · 2013 to 2016
$2.3M
Stress-induced Drinking in OEF/OIF Veterans: The Role of Combat History and PTSDR01AA020179 · NIAAA · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · PI AMSTADTER, ANANDA B · 2010 to 2014
$1.6M
Stress-induced drinking in Returning Soldiers: Genetic and Epigenetic MechanismsK02AA023239 · NIAAA · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · PI AMSTADTER, ANANDA B · 2014 to 2018
$643k
The Buffering Effects of Resilience on Alcohol Use: A Phenotypic and Genotypic InvestigationF31AA027703 · NIAAA · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · PI CUSACK, SHANNON · 2019 to 2021
$90k
Genetics of PTSD and Trauma-Related DrinkingF31AA025820 · NIAAA · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · PI HAWN, SAGE ELYSE · 2017 to 2019
$82k
NIAAA NIH HHS F31 AA025820NIAAA NIH HHS F31 AA027703NIAAA NIH HHS K02 AA023239NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA020179NIMHD NIH HHS P60 MD002256NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH101518
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) commonly co-occur and are associated with many negative public health outcomes. There are several etiological models that explain the overlap between PTSD and AUD, including shared genetic risk and phenotypic causality, but the predominant model of etiologic association is the drinking-to-cope self-medication model. Although the self-medication model is conceptually appealing and has been widely accepted within the literature examining alcohol use and anxiety (e.g., PTSD) phenotypes, the findings are inconsistent and there is a lack of rigorous empirical evidence in support of this model. This review, which was, to our knowledge, the first systematic review of the self-medication model in relation to PTSD to date, aimed to synthesize the current literature on the association between PTSD and problematic alcohol use within the context of the self-medication model. In total, 24 studies met the inclusion criteria for the review and assessed the self-medication hypothesis using a variety of measurement instruments and data analytic approaches, such as mediation, moderation, and regression. Overall, the included studies provide evidence for the self-medication hypothesis but are limited in rigor due to methodological limitations. These limitations, which include issues with the operationalization (or lack thereof) of trauma-related drinking to cope, are discussed, and directions for future research are presented.

Indexed as

Adaptation, PsychologicalAdultAlcoholismFemaleHumansMaleSelf MedicationStress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

Identifiers

PMID32516487
PMCPMC7572615

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.