NCJ Number
189954
Journal
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy Volume: 8 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2001 Pages: 275-280
Date Published
August 2001
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Preliminary analysis of a large British general practice database was conducted in order to determine the prevalence of mentally ill patients in primary care who were also diagnosed with a drug abuse problem and vice versa.
Abstract
The baseline population was 527,000, of whom 1,308 patients (prevalence 0.25 percent) were diagnosed with a drug abuse problem; 59,359 patients suffered a mental illness (11.26 percent) between 1993 and 1997. Comorbidity was defined by diagnoses of mental illness and drug abuse at any time between 1993 and 1997 (i.e., not necessarily simultaneously). A total of 621 (0.12 percent) patients were found to be comorbid according to this definition. Neurosis was the most common condition for both mentally ill and drug-abusing patients. Drug abusers were found to have higher rates of psychosis, schizophrenia, paranoia, and personality disorders than those with only a mental illness; however, little difference was observed in the prevalence of these conditions between those classed as drug addicts and non-addicts. These findings showed that those regarded as nondependent suffered from mental illness to the same extent as those who were addicted or dependent on drugs. This raised issues regarding service and treatment provision, since emphasis was usually placed on treating the addicted. Future analysis will focus on the time relationships, in order to determine possible patterns of causality. 2 figures, 2 tables, and 13 references