Who seeks treatment when medicine opens the door to pathological gambling patients-psychiatric comorbidity and heavy predominance of online gambling

Abstract

Background: Few studies have assessed treatment-seeking behavior and patient characteristics in pathological gambling focusing on psychiatric comorbidity, particularly in a setting of heavy exposure to online gambling. This study aimed to address patient characteristics in a novel health care-based treatment modality for pathological gambling, including potential associations between gambling types, psychiatric comorbidity, and gender. Methods: All patients undergoing structured assessment between January 2016 and April 2017 were included (N = 106), and patient records were reviewed for cooccurring psychiatric disorders and types of problem games. Results: Eighty percent were men, and 58% received a psychiatric disorder apart from pathological gambling. Problematic gambling on online casino and online sports betting represented 84% of patients. Non-substance-related psychiatric comorbidity was significantly associated with female gender. Conclusion: Online gambling is more clearly predominating in this setting than in studies from other countries. High rates of comorbidity call for structured psychiatric assessment in problem gambling, with a particular focus on female patients with pathological gambling.