The Clinical Significance of the Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone Test in Alcoholic Men

Abstract

Sixty-six alcoholic men who had been abstinent from alcohol for at least four weeks were assessed clinically and then investigated in terms of Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) and prolactin responses to a Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone (TRH) challenge. Consistent with other studies, a third of the subjects had a blunted TSH response to TRH. This blunted response was not associated with a family history of alcoholism, or current depressive symptoms, past history of depression or family history of depression. However, subjects with a blunted TSH response were more likely to have had an earlier onset of alcoholism and to have had shorter alcoholic remissions in the past.