The Baltimore Sun reported Dec. 9 that doctors routinely advise women to stop using caffeine while pregnant to protect their babies' health. Most women have no trouble complying, but those with family members who had problems with alcohol abuse tended to have difficulty quitting or cutting back on their caffeine use.

None of the women in the study were themselves alcoholics. "These are people who want to quit, should quit and can't quit," said researcher Roland R. Griffiths of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Griffiths said the findings suggest that alcohol and caffeine addictions have similar genetic underpinnings, and that women with a family history of alcoholism may need extra help in quitting caffeine when pregnant. The authors also said that caffeine dependence could serve as a warning sign for other types of addictions.

The study appears in the December 2005 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

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