Frequent alcohol, nicotine or cannabis use is common in young persons presenting for mental healthcare: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

ObjectivesTo determine the prevalence of recent alcohol, nicotine or cannabis use in young persons presenting for mental healthcare.DesignA cross-sectional study of young people seeking mental healthcare completed self-report questionnaires regarding their use of alcohol, nicotine or cannabis.SettingData were collected from two sites as part of the national headspace services programme.Participants2122 young people aged 12–30 years provided information as part of a patient register; a subset of N=522 participants also provided more detailed information about their patterns of alcohol use.Outcome measuresPrevalence levels of recent alcohol, nicotine or cannabis use within relevant age bands (12–17, 18–19 and 20–30) or primary diagnostic categories.ResultsThe rates for use at least weekly of alcohol for the three age bands were 12%, 39% and 45%, and for cannabis 7%, 14% and 18%, respectively. The rates of daily nicotine use for the three age bands were 23%, 36% and 41%. The pattern of alcohol use was characterised by few abstainers as well as many risky drinkers. Age of onset across all three substances was approximately 15 years. Individuals who used any of the three substances more frequently were likely to be older, male or have psychotic or bipolar disorders.ConclusionsFrequent use of alcohol, nicotine or cannabis in young people seeking mental healthcare is common. Given the restricted legal access, the patterns of use in those aged 12–17 years are particularly notable. Reductions in substance use needs to be prioritised within services for at-risk young people.

Demographic and clinical characteristics of young people seeking help at youth mental health services: baseline findings of the Transitions Study

“…High rates of lifetime substance use were reported for both licit and illicit substances, and 37% of the cohort indicated that they were current smokers, a rate double the prevalence of tobacco use (16%) according to Census data. The rates of problematic substance use were also elevated for users of cannabis and alcohol, consistent with the findings of Hermens et al . in another youth mental health sample.…”

Depression in the wives of convicted men: prevalence and associated factors

“…It should be noted that this disease is already recognized as prevalent among the female public, considering that, according to a study carried out in ten countries, showed that women are twice as likely to have depression as men, and in Brazil, the reason is 2.6 times more likely to have depression compared to men (7) . Nevertheless, the association between depression and risk factors for age, smoking and alcoholism in women has been investigated in recent years, also showing that social, environmental and family problems directly interfere in the prevalence of the disease (7,(13)(14) .…”

Changes in cannabis use among young people

“…The rates of cannabis use among adolescents attending mental health services is well established [43], with recent evidence of 7% of young adolescents across a large early intervention mental health service using cannabis at least weekly [44]. One of the clinical implications of this is that persistent cannabis use has been linked to poorer intervention outcomes and levels of service engagement [45].…”