Depression and the severity of substance abuse

Background: Psychosocial factors have been considered important in the init iation of drug abuse and seem to affect its clinical course and outcome. Se veral studies have reported psychopathology, namely depression, to be consi stently high in addiction. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate th e prevalence of depression and its relationship to the severity of drug abu se in a Portuguese sample of drug addicts. Methods: Two hundred and eighty- five drug addicts (23 women and 262 men, aged between 16 and 41 years old), diagnosed according to the DSM-IV criteria, were contacted during their fi rst visit for treatment at public health centres. Social, demo graphic and behavioural characteristics of the study sample were obtained by interview using a structured questionnaire. The severity of drug abuse was evaluated using a Portuguese version of the Drug Abuse Screening Test, and depression was assessed by the Zung self-rating depression scale. Results: The preval ence of depression was 51.2% and was higher in females than males (77.8 vs. 48.7%, p = 0.034), A significant correlation was also found between the se verity of drug abuse and depression scores, which was also stronger in fema les (r = 0.53 vs. r = 0.24). Conclusions: This study showed a high prevalen ce of depression in drug addicts, regardless of the type and duration of dr ug abuse, and a significant association between depression and severity of drug addiction. Copyright (C) 2000 S .Karger AG. Basel.