Clinical and demographical aspects of alcohol and drug dependent physicians

Abstract

The misuse of alcohol and drugs among physicians is a common cause of malpractice, absenteeism and complaints to the Medical Councils. This problem demands more attention, because it entails risks to the population and to the physicians themselves. AIMS. To describe the clinical and demographic profile of a sample of physicians in treatment for alcohol and drug dependence also to evaluate psychiatric comorbidity and consumption-related consequences. METHODS. Data was collected from a sample of 198 physicians attending outpatient treatment by a questionnaire specifically designed for this study. Results: Most of the subjects were men (87.8%), married (60.1%), with a mean age of 39.4 years (S.D. = 10.7). Sixty-six per cent had already been in inpatient treatment for alcohol and drug misuse. Sixty-nine per cent were specialists practicing mainly: internal medicine, anaesthesiology and surgery. Psychiatric comorbidity was diagnosed in 27.7% for DSM-IV Axis I and in 6% for DSM-V Axis II. With regard to drugs the most frequent pattern was use of alcohol and drugs (36.8%), followed by exclusive use of alcohol (34.3%) and exclusive use of drugs (28.3%). It was observed that the mean interval between the identification of misuse of substances and the seeking of treatment was of 3.7 years. Thirty per cent tried to achieve treatment by themselves. The social and legal problems observed were: unemployment in the previous year (1/3 of the sample), marital problems and divorce (52%), car accidents (42%), legal problems (19%). 84.8% presented professional problems and 8.5% had problems within the Medical Councils. CONCLUSION. The researchers suggest supportive and preventive attitudes for this matter.