Psychiatric comorbidity among substance misusing mothers

AbstractBackground: Approximately half of patients suffering from a significant drug or alcohol related disorder also match the criteria of some other psychiatric disorder. Yet, little is known about comorbidity among substance misusing pregnant women. Aims: To estimate the prevalence of psychiatric diseases among mothers with substance misuse severe enough to end up in an assessment at a specialized addiction clinic and to compare their backgrounds to the controls. Methods: Between 1 June 2003 and 31 December 2005, the maternity clinics in Pirkanmaa health district were asked to refer mothers with possible substance misuse to Tampere University Addiction Psychiatric Clinic, where 119/217 patients were considered misusers. Of these, 49/119 (41.2%) participated in the whole study. At baseline, the assessment was made using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) and at the end of the study, 6–12 months after delivery, with the Structured Clinical Interv...