A six‐year study of substance use and mental health disorders: ascertaining the prevalence of comorbidity

Abstract

Purpose

Characteristics of substance use disorders (SUDs) comorbid with mental health disorders (MHDs) are not completely clear in early population based studies. The objective of this paper is to examine the association of SUDs comorbid with MHDs and vice‐versa using a large inpatient dataset.

Design/methodology/approach

The data (1 July 2001 to 30 June 2007) were extracted from the New South Wales Inpatient Statistic Data Collection. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS.

Findings

There was a total of 10,211,596 (4,671,243 males (45.75 per cent) and 5,540,353 females (54.25 per cent)) admissions. Over the six years, between 9.4 per cent and 12.6 per cent of the patients with MHDs were diagnosed as having SUDs. Of the patients diagnosed with SUDs, between 42.5 per cent and 57.4 per cent also had a diagnosis of MHDs. Overall, the comorbidity for both MHDs and SUDs was between 8.4 per cent and 11.3 per cent. The odds ratio for either SUDs or MHDs compared to the general population was between 13.0 to 20.8.

Originality/value

Patients with SUDs are highly likely to have a mental health problem. This is the first largest study and the findings imply that different efforts towards the prevention, care and management of comorbidity may be warranted.

Citation

Man Xiong Lai, H. and Sitharthan, T. (2012), "A six‐year study of substance use and mental health disorders: ascertaining the prevalence of comorbidity", Drugs and Alcohol Today, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 180-186. https://doi.org/10.1108/17459261211263497