PSYCHIATRIC COMORBIDITY IN METHADONE-MAINTAINED PATIENTS

Diagnosing comorbid psychiatric disorders in methadone maintained pati ents may help to identify subgroups with different outcomes and needs for treatment. In this study, 75 methadone maintenance clinic patients in treatment longer than 30 days were assessed with the Addiction Sev erity Index, Global Assessment Scale and Mini-Mental Status Exam, and were interviewed for DSM-III-R psychiatric diagnosis using the compute rized Diagnostic Interview Schedule. Psychiatric diagnoses were preval ent in the sample with depression, phobic disorders, antisocial person ality and generalized anxiety the most common. Both number of DSM-III- R diagnoses and severity of psychopathology were correlated with outco me measures such as concurrent drug abuse, family-social problems and employment status. Overall, the results indicate that comorbid psychop athology is a significant variable in methadone maintenance patients. Clinicians working with this group should attend to these patients' ne eds for treatment of comorbid disorders.