DRUG-ABUSE AND PSYCHIATRIC COMORBIDITY

Psychiatric morbidity was studied in a sample of 176 opioid-dependent men recruited from prison and treatment services. The Diagnostic Inter view Schedule (DIS) was used for psychiatric assessment. Lifetime and current prevalence of any mental disorder, excluding substance use dis orders, reached 90.3% and 66.1%, respectively. The most prominent life time DSM-III axis I disorders were anxiety (31.8% lifetime and 16.5% l ast month) and affective (25% lifetime and 19.9% last month) disorders . Antisocial personality disorder (ASP) had a lifetime prevalence of 6 9.3%. Higher rates of affective and anxiety disorders were diagnosed i n the treatment sample than in the imprisoned sample, whereas the inve rse was observed for ASP. Results from the psychiatric interview showi ng a strong association between drug-opiate-dependence and DSM-III men tal disorders are further supported by findings of high levels of depr essive symptoms on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression ( CES-D) scale (71.5%) and increased rates of self-reported suicide atte mpts (27.4%) and psychiatric hospitalizations (26.8%). Psychiatric dis orders seem to precede drug dependence in the majority of cases. Resul ts from this study are compared and discussed with those from similar North American studies. (C) 1995 by W.B. Saunders Company