Dear Division 28,
On behalf of Dr. Roland Griffiths, I am writing to you to seek your support in helping to argue for DSM-5 to recognize Caffeine Withdrawal and (possibly Caffeine Dependence). The Substance-Related Disorders Work Group is requesting comments on the APA DSM-5 development website. Below is an email to the Work Group Chair, Chuck O'Brien, outlining the considerations for including both Caffeine Withdrawal and Caffeine Dependence. We think it is possible that the Work Group has not seriously considered the possibility that these diagnoses could be clinically important or meaningful.
If you think there are merits to some or all of the points outlined in the attached documents, we request that you log onto the APA website and post your own comments. The procedure is simple and the comments can be short. The website address for the DSM-5 development is:
Click on "Substance-Related Disorders" to see the new proposal. There is no mention of either Caffeine Withdrawal or Caffeine Dependence, despite substantial empirical support for both (e.g. attached review of caffeine withdrawal).
Posting comments is easy after a quick registration process. Roland and his other colleagues posted their comments to:
“292.0 Other (or Unknown) Substance Withdrawal.”
Thank you,
Hendree Jones, PhD
President
Division 28
Begin forwarded message:
From: Roland Griffiths <rgriff@jhmi.edu>
Date: March 10, 2010 11:00:28 AM EST
To: O'Brien Charles <obrien@mail.trc.upenn.edu>, "Alan Budney J." <AJBudney@uams.edu>
Cc: Hughes John <john.hughes@uvm.edu>, Juliano Laura <juliano@american.edu>
Subject: Comments on Caffeine for DSM-5
Dear Chuck, and Alan,
Johns Hughes, Laura Juliano and I are a bit perplexed at the absence of information about status of Caffeine Withdrawal and Caffeine Dependence on the APA DSM-5 development website. Attached is a memo to the DSM-5 Work Group on Substance-Related Disorders that contains comments that we posted to the website under “292.0 Other (or Unknown) Substance Withdrawal.” Also attached to this email are the two background papers that we wrote for the DSM-5 committee on these proposed diagnoses. These background papers document the strong empirical basis for considering these diagnoses. For those of us who have also treated patients with caffeine withdrawal and caffeine dependence, the case descriptions are also very compelling (see case reports in the background papers). Given the committee's busy agenda and the absence of a researcher who could speak from first-hand experience about caffeine, we wonder if these documents received the careful consideration that we believe they deserve. We would like to encourage you to encourage all committee members to consider our memo and re-review these background documents.
Best Regards
Roland
Roland R. Griffiths, Ph.D.
Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Voice: 410 550-0034
Fax: 410 550-0030
email: rgriff@jhmi.edu
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