Disorders due to substance use in ICD-11. Changes in clinical diagnosis

Abstract

The latest revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) was published on June 18, 2019. ICD-11 introduces major changes in both the nomenclature and understanding of many health conditions, including disorders due to substance use. The introduced modifications mainly include an updated and extended range of substance classes, additional harmful patterns of substance use, a new category referred to as “a single episode of harmful use”, a category for high-risk substance use, and simplification of diagnostic guidelines for substance dependence. Improvement of clinical utility was the primary goal of the work on the ICD-11 system. It is important to note the demand for treatment, which significantly exceeds the available resources, with the difference ranging from 32% to 78%, depending on the disorder. Due to the above problems, the World Health Organization decided that there is a need to increase the identification and early management of mental disorders at the primary health care level. The aim of the paper is to discuss changes in the diagnostic criteria for disorders due to substance use listed in ICD-11. Categories for different patterns of substance use, definitions and diagnostic criteria have been presented.