An exploratory investigation of co-occurring substance- related and psychiatric disorders

This exploratory, quantitative study investigated the prevalence rate of patients with co-occurring substance-related and psychiatric disorders (CODs) at a private rehabilitation centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. Details of the case histories of the clients were collected, coded and analysed using Statistical Analysis System (SAS). The results indicated that 57.1% of 419 clients had one or more co-occurring psychiatric disorder, along with a substance-related disorder. Of the 239 with a COD, 155 had a mood disorder, 40 had an anxiety disorder, 39 had ADHD, 35 had an eating disorder, eight had a conduct disorder and five had schizophrenia. Statistically significant relationships were found for ADHD with cannabis-related disorders and polysubstance dependence; anxiety-related disorders with alcohol-related disorders; and mood disorders with cocaine-related disorders, possibly substance-induced disorders and substance-induced disorders. These results showed that a large group of patients admitted at the centre had one or more COD and this made the treatment more complex. The results of this study suggest the need to develop specialized treatment programmes for patients with CODs.