Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Jul 6:7:31.
doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-7-31.

Risky use of alcohol, drugs and cigarettes in a psychosis unit: a 1 1/2 year follow-up of stability and changes after initial screening

Gunilla Cruce  1 , Agneta Ojehagen
Affiliations

Risky use of alcohol, drugs and cigarettes in a psychosis unit: a 1 1/2 year follow-up of stability and changes after initial screening

Gunilla Cruce et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Co-morbidity with substance use disorders negatively influences overall functioning in patients with psychosis. However, frequencies and courses of risky use of alcohol, drugs and cigarettes are rarely investigated in patients at psychosis units. The purpose of this study is to describe the use of alcohol, drugs and cigarettes in patients at a psychosis unit over a 1 1/2 year period after them having taken part in a screening investigation including a feed-back of the results to personnel. Relationships with sex and age are also described.

Methods: The patients' use of the substances was examined at baseline and at follow-up using three self-reporting instruments: Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) and Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND).

Results: One hundred and eighty-six patients out of 238 at baseline (78 percent) took part in the follow-up. Total AUDIT score decreased in women. Older men more often developed a risky alcohol use. Older women tended to reduce their risky drug habits. On a group level the habits mostly were stable, but 11 percent changed their alcohol habits and 15 percent changed their smoking habits from risky to no/low risky use, or vice versa. Nine percent changed their drug habits, predominantly from risky to no/low risky use.

Conclusion: A more active approach towards alcohol, drug and smoking habits in psychosis units would probably be beneficial.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Regier DA, Farmer ME, Rae DS, Locke BZ, Keith SJ, Judd LL, Goodwin FK. Comorbidity of mental disorders with alcohol and other drug abuse. Results from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) Study. Jama. 1990;264:2511–2518. doi: 10.1001/jama.264.19.2511. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Drake RE, Wallach MA, Alverson HS, Mueser KT. Psychosocial aspects of substance abuse by clients with severe mental illness. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2002;190:100–106. doi: 10.1097/00005053-200202000-00006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dickey B, Normand SL, Weiss RD, Drake RE, Azeni H. Medical morbidity, mental illness, and substance use disorders. Psychiatr Serv. 2002;53:861–867. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.53.7.861. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Le Fauve CE, Litten RZ, Randall CL, Moak DH, Salloum IM, Green AI. Pharmacological treatment of alcohol abuse/dependence with psychiatric comorbidity. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2004;28:302–312. doi: 10.1097/01.ALC.0000113413.37910.D7. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Margolese HC, Malchy L, Negrete JC, Tempier R, Gill K. Drug and alcohol use among patients with schizophrenia and related psychoses: levels and consequences. Schizophr Res. 2004;67:157–166. doi: 10.1016/S0920-9964(02)00523-6. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types