Co-occuring Disorders

A new report developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) providing state-by-state analyses of a wide range of behavioral health issues reveals that despite some wide variations among the states in the types and levels of problems they confront— every state must deal with these issues. For example, among those aged 12 and older, Iowa had less than half the current illicit drug use rate of Alaska (5.3-percent versus 13.5-percent) yet Iowa also was among the top 10 states with the highest levels of people age 12 and older currently participating in binge drinking (28.6-percent).

A new report shows that alcohol dependence is four times more likely to occur among adults with mental illness than among adults with no mental illness (9.6-percent versus 2.2-percent).

While fewer youth and adults smoke tobacco today then a decade ago, national data shows that those declines are leveling off. Widespread public education, environmental policy changes, and effective smoking cessation approaches have significantly reduced smoking rates, but for people with mental illness and/or substance use disorders, a coalition in Connecticut noticed that smoking rates were much higher than its general population.

Patients with addiction or mental-health related problems accounted for 12.5 percent of all hospital emergency-room visits by adults in 2007, according to a report from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The American Psychiatric Association's (APA) proposed diagnostic criteria for the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) will eliminate the current categories of substance abuse and dependence, replacing them with the new category "addiction and related disorders." This will include "substance use disorders," with each drug identified as a category such as "alcohol use disorder." This was announced by the APA in a news release on Feb. 10th.

A report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) indicates that, in the past year, one quarter (26.7 percent) of adolescent girls were involved in a serious fight at school or work, group-against-group fight, or an attack on others with the intent to inflict serious harm, putting them at greater risk of alcohol and other drug use.

As kids head back to school this month, the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign has made several materials available to help community organizations remind teens and parents that drugs harm academic achievement and performance in school.

According to a survey reported by Health Behavior News Service, excessive alcohol use can relate to overeating and depression in young women.

Research shows that extreme stress—whether it´s a natural disaster or an economic recession—can have a major impact on mental health and substance use disorders. That´s why the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released an online guide that provides practical advice on addressing emotional health issues related to the economic hard times. Experts say coalitions can play a role in helping people during these stressful times.

A new report providing state-by-state analyses of substance abuse and mental illness patterns reveals that there are wide variations in the levels of problems like illicit drug use found among the states, but that every state suffers from these problems. For example, among those aged 12 and older, Iowa had less than half the current illicit drug use rate of Rhode Island (5.2 percent vs. 12.5 percent) – yet Iowa's population aged 12 and older also had one of the nation's highest levels of people experiencing alcohol dependence or abuse in the past year (9.2 percent).