[The prevalence of psychiatric co-morbidity among opioid addicts].

OBJECTIVE

To statistically pool prevalence estimates of all studies on co-morbid psychiatric disorders in samples of opioid addicts.

METHODS

16 studies were identified which comprised 3754 opioid addicts. Meta-analysis was conducted using precision weighted algorithms.

RESULTS

78 % of the opiate addicts had at least one co-morbid psychiatric disorder at least once in their lifetime. Especially personality disorders had a high prevalence (42 %). The second highest prevalence was found with mood disorders (31 %), the third highest prevalence was anxiety disorders with 8 %.

CONCLUSIONS

The high prevalence of psychiatric disorders among opioid addicts signaled the need to improve and develop better treatment programs.