Addiction and mental illness relationship 'must be studied'

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by Change | 7 Jan 2009

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The relationship between substance addiction and other mental illnesses must be investigated more thoroughly, a report claims.

rehab clinics need to take the common link between drug or alcohol addiction and other mental illnesses into account when offering treatment, research suggests.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse's (NIDA's) Comorbidity: Addiction and Other Mental Illnesses report examines the relationship connecting different problems.

It states that over the last 20 years, a number of national surveys have recognised the connection between these, with those suffering mood or anxiety disorders having a twice as high chance of developing drug addiction.

The inverse is also true, with people who engage in substance abuse at twice as high a risk of developing a mental illness.

Dr Nora Volkow claims the scientific community does not currently have enough information on this to be able to predict whether the presence of one disorder will indicate the second.

She states: "We do know, however, that the high rate of comorbidity means that we need a comprehensive approach to intervention that identifies, evaluates and treats each disorder concurrently."

In other news, a spokesperson for Alcohol Concern recently called for more money to be invested in substance abuse treatment centres.

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