Co-morbidity of psychiatric/physical disorders with alcohol abuse/dependence in a sample of clients of the emergency department of the psychiatric hospital of Attica–Greece

Abstract

Introduction

Increased coexistence of psychiatric symptoms in patients with alcohol abuse/addiction is highlighted in the literature. Equally high is the coexistence of physical illnesses due to the harmful effects of alcohol.

Aims

To record the profile and the characteristics of individuals with psychiatric/somatic co-morbidity who attend the psychiatric emergency department/(PED) of the largest psychiatric hospital in Greece.

Methods/Results

A total of 1058 individuals, with a mean age of 44.4 years, were identified having alcohol problems in a five-year time period (2010–2015) in the context of the PED, while the majority of them was found to have psychiatric co-morbidity. The most common diagnosis was psychotic syndromes (24.2%), followed by affective (23.8%), personality (12.5%), and somatoform and anxiety disorders (6.3%). About 3% of the sample presented acute alcohol poisoning or severe withdrawal symptoms, coexistence with severe somatic disease and organic mental disorders. More than a third (37%) of them had to be hospitalized, while the involuntary hospitalization rates (21%) were higher than the voluntary ones (16%). Finally, 13.65% suffered from co-morbid somatic diseases with need of immediate emergency and hospital care.

Conclusions

The abuse and/or dependence of alcohol are largely associated with the coexistence of psychiatric and physical diseases. The psychiatric and physical co-morbidity, as regards attendance and hospitalization–involuntary and voluntary–, present a higher rate in men (86%) and mainly affects people of productive age. Additional data are needed to explore detailed factors that could contribute to a better design of more appropriate services for patients with alcohol use disorders.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.