Prevalence and impact of co-occurring psychiatric disorders on outcomes from a private hospital drug and alcohol treatment program

Aim: This naturalistic study was designed to assess the prevalence and impact of co-occurring mental disorders in 104 adults (52% male) admitted to a private hospital drug and alcohol treatment program in Brisbane, Australia. Method: Psychiatric diagnoses made by the participants' admitting psychiatrists were collected by chart audit. Measures of substance use, dependence and mood were obtained by a program psychologist on participants' admission to the hospital, and during a follow-up interview conducted by the second researcher an average of 8.5 months after participants' discharge. Results: Ninety-two per cent of the sample was diagnosed with at least one mental disorder; most commonly Major Depressive Disorder (57%), Generalised Anxiety Disorder (20%) and Borderline Personality Disorder (16%). Having a concurrent mood, anxiety or personality disorder was not significantly related to either program attendance or outcomes on substance related self-report measures. Only depression symptoms at follow-up w...