Alcoholism and psychiatric disorder in patients who present to different services in Wellington

Alcohol dependence and abuse have been commonly found to coexist with other psychiatric disorders. In order to further investigate this relationship two populations with combined dysfunctional alcohol use and psychiatric illness were studied, one at an alcohol treatment centre and one at a general hospital psychiatric service. Sixty of the 63 people screened at the alcohol treatment centre and 41 of the 43 people with an alcohol problem at the psychiatric unit, met the combined criteria, thus confirming that a very high proportion of people with alcohol problems, and who present for treatment, also have additional psychiatric disorders. The two sample populations were similar on sociodemographic variables. There were differences in the types of psychiatric disorders occurring at the two treatment centres with depression predominating at the psychiatric unit and anxiety disorders occurring more frequently at the alcohol treatment facility. Both samples showed a high rate of schizophrenia. The sample at the alcohol treatment centre showed higher levels of alcohol consumption and had higher rates of problems associated with alcohol. Service delivery issues are discussed in relation to these results. The importance of psychiatric symptoms in both the genesis of dysfunctional drinking and in service utilisation are highlighted.