Anxiety and depression in addiction: magnitude of the problem

Abstract

Aim Anxiety, depression, and substance-use disorders are common comorbidities in psychiatry and this is evidenced in the previous epidemiologic studies. The current study was conducted to evaluate anxiety and depressive symptoms among patients with substance-use disorder, also to detect the correlation between the degree of anxiety and depression on one hand and the sociodemographic variables and drug use-related problems on the other hand. Patients and methods A case–control study was carried out at Mansoura University Psychiatry Department (Addiction Unit), from December 2020 to the end of June 2021. A sample of 50 patients with substance-use disorder were included in the study according to the following criteria: (a) 18 years or older, (b) currently with the diagnosis of substance-use disorder according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5, and (c) acceptance of the participation in the study, also with the following exclusion criteria: (a) the patient had known psychiatric diagnoses before being diagnosed with substance-use disorder, (b) the patient was intellectually disabled or has an organic brain disorder, and (c) the patient has chronic medical conditions. The control group of 50 individuals without a past or current history of substance-use disorder and free from chronic medical conditions as well. Results The present study was conducted on 50 age-matched and sex-matched groups, mean age of the studied groups is 29 (6.62) and 29.36 (6.56) for patients and control groups, respectively. Among the studied cases, 94% are polysubstance users, 90% have multiple routes for drug intake, 34.0% have peer pressure as the main reason for addiction, and 90% have started substance use from more than 1 year. Beck depression and Beck anxiety scores illustrate a statistically significant difference between the studied group with higher severity of depression and anxiety among the studied patients than the control group; moderate, severe, and extreme depression is detected among patients only and 32% of the patients’ group are suffering from mild anxiety, while 50% have moderate anxiety and severe anxiety was found among 18% of the studied cases. A statistically significant positive correlation is detected between Beck anxiety and drug-use identification test score (r=0.384, P=0.006). There is no statistically significant association between sociodemographic data and drug-use identification test among the studied cases (P>0.05). Conclusion Substance-use disorder is associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms of variable degree. There is a remarkable association between the presence of anxiety and depression on the one hand and the severity of drug-related problems on the other hand. Depression and anxiety are commonly present together in patients with substance-use disorders.