TITLE:
Co-Occurring Polysubstance Use and Physical Disease of Persons with Mental Disorders in Residential Treatment Program
AUTHORS:
Minjeong Kim, Linda Chafetz
KEYWORDS:
Mental Disorders, Physical Disease, Polysubstance Use
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.10 No.12,
December
18,
2020
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of co-occurring polysubstance use and to examine the differences in physical disease between polysubstance users and single/no substance users with mental disorders. This retrospective cross-sectional study included 1949 clinical records of psychiatric patients from 11 residential treatment programs between 2007 and 2011. Demographic variables, psychiatric diagnoses, and data on substance use and physical disease were obtained from the clinical records. Chi-square analyses were used to examine substance use difference in the prevalence of each physical disease category. This study found that the prevalence of co-occurring polysubstance use was 53.5%. Chi-square analyses identified that co-occurring polysubstance users reported more respiratory, digestive, musculoskeletal, and HIV/AIDS diseases but less endocrine diseases than single/no substance users. Therefore, integrated treatment programs for treating patients with co-occurring substance use and physical disease should be developed and expanded for this high-risk group.