IntroductionIn substance – related disorders comorbidity refers to any preexisting or following psychological or psychiatric condition that influence the course and prognosis of a patient.ObjectivesTo determine the extent of comorbid substance use and psychiatric disorders among hospitalized in a General Hospital Psychiatric Unit patients and reveal the implications of treatment in such a unit.MethodAll patients hospitalized during a year, were included in the study. Demographics, final diagnosis, substance of use and means of admission (voluntary or involuntary) were recorded.Results7.4% of the total of 339 inpatients met the diagnostic criteria of comorbid substance use disorders. Eleven of them were diagnosed with alcohol use disorder comorbidity, 7 with illicit drug use comorbidity and 7 with both legal and illicit drug use comorbidity. Among inpatients with comorbid use disorders male patients had a significantly higher percentage versus females (x2 p < 0.05). Mean age of inpatients with comorbidity was significantly less than the mean age of the sample (t-test p < 0.05). Duration of hospitalization for inpatients with comorbidity was 15.16 ± 12.4 days versus 21.2 ± 18.4 days for the rest of patients (t-test p < 0.05). Concerning the way of admission, 72% of inpatients with comorbid use disorders were involuntary admitted (x2 p < 0.05).ConclusionConcerning age, sex and means of admission patients with a psychiatric disorder and substance use disorder comorbidity seem to vary from the rest of inpatients. These parameters are probably associated with serious difficulties in therapeutic compliance and with increased hazard.
Smoking, alcohol consumption, and drug use among adolescents with psychiatric disorders compared with a population based sample