NIDA Notes

Most People Entering Drug Treatment Have Additional Mental Health Problems

This is Archived content. This content is available for historical purposes only. It may not reflect the current state of science or language from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). For current information, please visit nida.nih.gov.

bar graph showing mental health problems reported by various age groups enteting drug treatment - see caption In 77 studies that included 4,930 adolescents and 1,956 adults, two-thirds of patients entering substance abuse treatment programs reported at least one co-occurring mental health problem during the previous year. Attention deficit and conduct disorders were more common in young patients, anxiety and depression in older patients.

Source

Chan, Y.F., Dennis, M.L., and Funk, R.L. Prevalence and comorbidity of major internalizing and externalizing problems among adolescents and adults presenting to substance abuse treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 34(1):14-24, 2008. [Abstract]