Going to AA
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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
Alcoholics Anonymous can work against alcoholism. And a researcher says attending AA meetings can also help to reduce depressive symptoms, which he says are common among people with alcoholism.
John Kelly of Massachusetts General Hospital looked at data on more than 1,700 people:
"Some people were more depressed than others at intake. But when you parse all that out - you control for that - you find that, the more meetings you attend, the less depressed you were." (8 seconds)
Kelly says it's another thing that can make AA valuable. He believes AA's fellowship may lift people's mood. And he says something about following AA's 12 Steps may have an effect. He says staying sober can help because alcoholism can raise depression.
The study in the journal Addiction was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Learn more at hhs.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.