Psychiatric comorbidity among patients attending an addiction treatment center in Morocco

Abstract

Introduction: The comorbidity between psychiatric disorders and substance use disorders is more and more common in daily clinical practice. However, only few studies have adressed this subject in north african patients. Objectives: The main objective of our study was the estimation of the prevalence and patterns of psychiatric co-morbidities in substance users seeking care. Methods: Our work consisted of a cross-sectional study of a sample of patients attending outpatient substance use treatment at the addiction center in Oujda, Morocco. A hetero-questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data and patient history, DSM-IV criteria to assess substance abuse and dependence, and the Mini- International Neuropsychiatric Interview [MINI] to assess psychiatric comorbidities. Results: Our study involved 100 patients, with a male predominance (89% of users). The main substances used in the last 12 months were tobacco (78%), followed by cannabis (74%), alcohol (50%), and benzodiazepines (44%). Psychiatric comorbidity was identified in 71% of the users, 51% of whom had a depressive disorder, 35% an anxiety disorder and 10% a gambling disorder. The dependence on the substance that initially motivated the consultation was higher in patients with psychiatric comorbidity (p=0.033). The post-traumatic stress disorder was significantly associated with the presence of alcohol dependence (p=0.028). The presence of benzodiazepine dependence (p=0.025) and abuse of cocaine (p=0.028) and Ecstasy (p=0.000) were significantly associated with suicide risk. Conclusions: Our study found a high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities among substance users seeking treatment, this should prompt clinicians to pay particular attention to this issue in order to adapt and improve their management.