Comorbidity between drug addiction and other psychopathologies

The term comorbidity either associated morbidity It is used to designate the diagnosis according to which the same person suffers from two or more disorders or diseases.

These disorders can occur simultaneously or in a chain. Comorbidity has the characteristic of indicating an interaction between two (or more than two) pathologies, potentially worsening the prognosis of both.

Drug addiction and associated psychopathologies

When we talk about drug addiction, we must be clear that in itself is classified as a mental illness, as it interrupts and alters the normal categorization of needs and desires, replacing them with new priorities linked to the acquisition and consumption of psychotropics.

Compulsive behaviors reduce the ability to control impulses, which causes a progressive degradation in interaction with the environment. This picture corresponds to a common symptomatology in psychopathologies.

Many drug addicts are also diagnosed with other mental illnesses, and vice versa.. Without going any further, drug addicts are twice as likely to suffer from pathologies associated with their mood or anxiety, which also occurs in the opposite direction.

But, Why is there this marked comorbidity between drug dependence and mental disorder? Although drug addiction disorders occur concurrently with other psychopathologies, This does not mean that one causes the other, although one of them may appear before and the other after. Indeed, it is often complex to determine which of the disorders arose first and why. However, studies indicate the following points as reasons why it is common for these diseases to occur comorbidly:

• Drug dependence often causes the symptoms of other psychopathology. For example, Some cannabis smokers with certain underlying vulnerabilities may present a greater risk of developing psychotic symptoms..

• Mental illnesses can lead to drug use, probably as a form of self-medication. People who suffer from anxiety or depression have a greater willingness to consume alcohol, smoking or other drugs or psychotropics that can temporarily relieve your symptoms.

Risk factors among drug addicts

These psychopathologies can also be explained by shared risk factors, such as:

• The addition of genetic vulnerabilities. Some genetic predispositions can increase susceptibility to both drug addiction and another psychopathology, or who may have a greater risk for the second pathology once the first.

• The addition of risk factors in the environment. Stress, substance use at a young age or childhood and adolescent trauma can lead to drug addiction and this, in turn, to other mental disorders.

• The activation of similar brain areas. For example, brain systems that are activated during reward or stress are seen altered by substance consumption and may present anomalies in people with certain psychopathologies.

• Pathologies due to substance abuse and other mental disorders are Developmental disorders. They usually appear during adolescence or even during puberty, just in the periods when the brain and nervous system undergo sudden changes due to their development. Drug use at this stage of life can modify brain structures in such a way that the risk of suffering from psychopathologies will be greater in the future. Thus, when there are early symptoms of mental illness, it is usually linked to a greater risk of drug addiction in the future.

Studies carried out in the Community of Madrid between 2006 and 2008 indicated that The co-occurrence of drug dependence disorders with mental illness occurred mainly in men (80%), with an average age of 37 years, single (58%) with primary education (46%).

The most common mental illnesses in these people are personality disorders, he suicide risk, hypomanic episodes, anxiety disorders and major depression.

55% of the subjects evaluated consumed two or more substances. cocaine (63%), alcohol (61%) and cannabis (23%) were the most reported drugs.

Bibliographic references:

• Beck, A., Newman, C. and Wright, F. (1999), Cognitive therapy of drug addiction. Barcelona: Paidós.
• Cuatrocchi, E. (2009), Drug addiction. Your recovery in a therapeutic community. Madrid: Editorial Space.
• Garcia, J. (2008), Epidemiological study to determine the prevalence, diagnosis and therapeutic attitude of dual pathology in the Community of Madrid. Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health Faculty of Medicine (UAM).
• Tejero, A. and Trujols, J. (2003). Clinical instruments for the evaluation of cocaine dependence. Barcelona: Ars Médica.