While they may all sound like too much drinkin', alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence are actually considered two different disorders. Researchers at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute looked into how often the two go together.

What the researchers wanted to know: Do people who are dependent on alcohol all abuse alcohol, too?

What they did: In 2001 and 2002, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism conducted a survey of about 43,000 people. Interviewers asked questions to diagnose people with alcohol abuse (excessive alcohol use) and alcohol dependence (so dependent on alcohol that they suffer withdrawal).

What they found: About a third of people with current alcohol dependence did not have alcohol abuse. Women and minorities were even more likely to have dependence without abuse. So, yes, you can be physically dependent on alcohol without abusing it.

What the study means to you: Primary-care doctors often use a test that screens for alcohol abuse when they want to know if patients have alcohol dependence; the researchers point out that doing so misses a lot of people, especially women and minorities, with alcohol dependence.

Find out more: Read all about alcoholism

Read the article: Hasin, D.S., and B.F. Grant. "The Co-Occurrence of DSM-IV Alcohol Abuse in DSM-IV Alcohol Dependence." Archives of General Psychiatry. September 2004, Vol. 61, pp. 891-896.

Abstract online: http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org