Comorbidity of substance use and mental health disorders in Europe (Perspectives on drugs)

Comorbidity of substance use and mental health disorders refers to the co-occurrence of a substance use disorder and another mental health disorder in the same individual. In Europe, the presence of psychiatric disorders associated with substance use disorders has become an important issue in drug policy and treatment provision. This is a result of the high prevalence of comorbidity, the complexity of treating it, and its association with poor treatment outcomes for those affected. This analysis explains what comorbidity is, its implications for care, types of service provision available in Europe and considers key issues for the future.

Part of the ‘Perspectives on drugs’ (PODs) series, launched as part of the European drug report package, these designed-for-the-web interactive analyses provide deeper insights into a selection of important issues. This POD is based on an EMCDDA Insights: ‘Comorbidity of substance use and mental disorders in Europe’.

Note that the online version contains additional interactive or audiovisual material not available in the PDF version.