Three Quarters of Patients With Schizophrenia Report Substance Use, Chart Review Finds

A review of electronic medical records of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in a community teaching hospital’s psychiatric unit found that more than three quarters used substances, such as tobacco and cannabis. Researchers presented their findings in a poster at the virtual 2021 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting.

“Our study found a high association between schizophrenia spectrum disorders and substance use, with 3 out of 4 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders using a substance,” wrote first author Terence Tumenta, MD, MPH, of the psychiatry department at Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and colleagues. “This prevalence is higher than previously reported by other studies.”

Noting a 47% rate of substance use disorder in patients with schizophrenia documented in a previous study, researchers conducted their retrospective chart review to gauge substance use prevalence in patients with schizophrenia in their facility, which is located in a community with significant social determinants of mental health. Their investigation focused on 349 adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders who were discharged from the hospital’s psychiatric unit between July 1, 2017, and October 31, 2017.

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The prevalence of substance use in the study population was 76.8%, researchers reported.

Among patients with schizophrenia, 62.3% used tobacco, 41.5% used cannabis, 40.2% used alcohol, and 27.4% used cocaine. In patients who reported using tobacco, unadjusted odds ratios were 7.24 for comorbid alcohol use, 5.00 for cocaine use, 4.62 for synthetic cannabis use, and 2.80 for cannabis use, according to the study. Multivariate analysis results supported the findings.

“As previously reported by almost all studies, if not all, there is a need to modify treatment to accommodate or address substance use comorbidity to achieve a favorable outcome in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders,” researchers concluded. “This makes it important to establish if a patient with schizophrenia has a comorbid substance use disorder.”

—Jolynn Tumolo

Reference

Tumenta T, Oladeji O, Gill M, et al. Substance use patterns and schizophrenia spectrum disorders: a retrospective study of inpatients at a community teaching hospital. Poster presented at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting; May 1-3, 2021; Virtual.