Risky Alcohol Use and Comorbidity in a Swedish Adolescent Emergency Psychiatric Inpatient Population

Sophia Eberhard; Olof Rask; Peter Höglund; Maria Råstam; Björn Axel Johansson

doi:10.1155/2021/5514144

Risky Alcohol Use and Comorbidity in a Swedish Adolescent Emergency Psychiatric Inpatient Population

J Addict. 2021 Oct 19:2021:5514144. doi: 10.1155/2021/5514144. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Sophia Eberhard¹, Olof Rask^{1

2}, Peter Höglund³, Maria Råstam^{1

4}, Björn Axel Johansson^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Lund University, SE-221 85 Lund, Sweden.
² Region Skåne, Psychiatry and Habilitation, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Regional Inpatient Care, Emergency Unit, SE-205 02 Malmö, Sweden.
³ Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology, Lund University, SE-221 85 Lund, Sweden.
⁴ Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, SE-413 45 Gothenburg, Sweden.

Abstract

Introduction: Underage drinking is associated with poor mental health. Early detection for risky alcohol use is recommended, although less implemented in adolescent care. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of risky alcohol use and psychiatric comorbidity.

Methods: Over a nine-month period, 145 eligible adolescents admitted to the child and adolescent emergency unit in Malmö, Sweden, were offered computerized screening with Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) and Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT).

Results: Ninety-six patients (73 girls and 23 boys) agreed to participate. The most common diagnoses were affective disorder (41%) and anxiety disorder (27%). Risky alcohol use was found among 33% of the girls and 22% of the boys (p=0.45) and did not differ between diagnostic categories. There was a positive correlation between AUDIT-C and DUDIT scores (p=0.019). Among adolescents with risky alcohol use, 33% of the girls and 60% of the boys also had a risky drug use. Conversely, 47% of the girls and 60% of the boys with risky drug use also had a risky alcohol use.

Conclusion: In view of the poor prognosis of risky alcohol use in adolescents, alcohol and drug habits should be assessed when adolescents seek psychiatric emergency care.