Psychiatric symptomatology among individuals in alcohol detoxification treatment

Abstract

The coexistence of psychiatric symptomatology among individuals receiving longer-term treatment for alcohol use disorders has been well-established; however, less is known about comorbidity among individuals receiving alcohol detoxification. Using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis, 1992), we compared psychiatric symptomatology among 815 individuals receiving short-term detoxification services with normative data from nonpatients, psychiatric patients, and out-oftreatment individuals using street drugs. Findings revealed that individuals in the current sample reported a wide range of psychiatric symptoms with over 80% meeting BSI criteria for diagnosable mental illness. These BSI scores were significantly more severe than those reported by out-oftreatment individuals using street drugs and most closely resembled BSI scores reported for adult psychiatric inpatients. Findings suggest that routine screening for severe mental health symptoms appears warranted in detoxification units. Such screening would greatly increase the chance that coexistence of substance use and other psychiatric disorders would be properly addressed in ongoing treatment. Keywordspsychopathology; dual diagnosis; comorbidity; alcohol detoxification; alcoholism IntroductionAmple documentation exists that the co-occurrence of psychiatric disorders with substance use disorders is a general and widespread problem in general mental health and substance abuse treatment settings (e.g., Brems & Johnson, 2004;Havassy, Alvidrez & Owen, 2004;RachBeisel, Scott, & Dixon, 1999) Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. NIH Public Access Method Setting and ParticipantsData were collected from 815 individuals receiving services at an alcohol detoxification unit located in Anchorage, Alaska. This unit is designed to provide a four-day intervention to detoxify individuals from alcohol and to assess them for any additional needed treatment. Average length of stay for the participants was 4.84 days (SD=1.28). Table 1 provides demographic information about the 815 participants. InstrumentationBrief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis, 1992 Scoring is accomplished by adding ratings for subscale items and dividing by the number of items. These mean raw scores can be transformed into T-scores (mean of 50 and standard deviation of 10) separately for women and men, based on relevant norms tables (adult, adolescent, inpatient, and outpatient). The following two criteria have been established for designating a protocol as being positive for diagnosable psychopathology based on adult, nonpatient norms: a) T-sc...

Comorbidities of mental and behavioral disorders in chemically dependent patients in different periods of abstinence

“…Furthermore, in the latter study, the frequencies of the following diagnoses were also similar to those found in the present study: depressive disorders (33.9%), anxiety disorders (11.5%), personality disorders (16.1%) and schizophrenia (2.6%). In Group 1, 72% of patients had a certain diagnosis of CMBD, a result that was lower than those observed in another clinical study carried out in Alaska, USA, conducted in patients with the same period of abstinence in an alcohol detoxification center (82%) 14 . This study used the Brief Symptom Inventory as a diagnostic tool and showed frequencies of diagnoses of depressive disorders (74.2%) and anxiety CMBD in chemically dependent patients disorders (73.5%) that were higher than those observed in the present study.…”

“…Severe mood disorders that are not treated can lead to relapses and even death by suicide 19 . In addition, it is believed that making a diagnosis of CMBD is important, even in the period of detoxification, as this increases the likelihood of individuals' needs being adequately met and of better adherence to treatment 14 .…”

“…Therefore, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) of the American Psychiatric Association recommends that the assessment to diagnose CMBD should be performed with individuals who have been abstinent for at least four weeks 3 . However, many studies did not describe the duration of abstinence before the CMBD was diagnosed 6,10 , or they showed a variation in the period of abstinence examined [11][12][13][14][15] .…”

Effet d'un traitement de l'abus de substances psychotropes sur la détresse psychologique et le fonctionnement exécutif autorégulateur, chez des adolescents présentant une problématique de consommation /

“…La comorbidité la plus importante associe les troubles d'utilisation d'une substance et les troubles dits d'externalisation (Abrantes et al, 2003;Armstrong & Costello, 2002;Couwenbergh et al, 2006;Hawkins, 2009 (Dorard, Berthoz, Phan, Corcos, & Bungener, 2008;Elkington, Bauermeister, & Zimmerman, 2010;Johnson, Brems, Mills, & Fisher, 2007;Lubman, Allen, Rogers, Cementon, & Bonomo, 2007).…”

?Usually, I?m not like that?: Toward a Model of Changes in Clinical Pain that Alcohol Drinking Induce?

“…Most of the work conducted in alcoholic subjects is conducted with abstinent subjects or having started [16] support. The profiles to which lead these studies do not take into account representation alcoholic subjects have their clinical disorders when they imagine drinking.…”