COURSE AND SEVERITY OF SUBSTANCE-ABUSE AMONG PATIENTS WITH COMORBID MAJOR DEPRESSION

The authors assessed the course and severity of substance-related diso rder (SRD) among patients with comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD ) by means of both retrospective and concurrent data. A total of 642 p atients were assessed Data on course included lifetime use, age at fir st use, years of use, use in the last year, periods of abstinence, and current diagnosis. Data on severity included true measures of SRD-ass ociated problems, substance abuse vs. dependence, self-help activities , and number of substances being abused SRD-MDD patients tended to man ifest lower levels of cannabis, opiate, and cocaine use, and more SRD- only patients were abusing three or more substances. Men with SRD-MDD demonstrated longer mean durations of abstinence compared with men wit h SRD-only, whereas SRD-MDD women demonstrated shorter mean durations of abstinence, compared with women with SRD-only. MDD-SRD patients sho wed slightly less substance abuse, but SRD severity was comparable wit h SRD-only patients.