Comorbidity of substance use and mental disorders in Europe

Abstract ‘Comorbidity of substance use and mental disorders’ refers to the co-occurrence of a substance use disorder (SUD) and another mental disorder (MHD) in the same individual: mental disorders can be a risk factor for SUD and SUD may affect the occurrence of MHD. The relevance of the mental health disorders among people who use substances is related not only to its high prevalence, but also to its difficult assessment, diagnosis, and management. The EUDA is the European Drug Agency (EUDA), a decentralised agency of the European Commission with the purpose to support the European member States to monitor, respond and be prepared to the challenges posed by the drug phenomenon, including the link between SUD and MHD. In 2015 the agency has published an overview on comorbidity of SUD and MHD where it discusses several issues regarding dual disorders, including: theoretical concepts and mechanisms of actions, tools for screening and clinical diagnosis, epidemiology and interventions available to address comorbidity in the European countries (EMCDDA, 2015). The European strategic policy documents in the drug area stress the importance of considering mental health in monitoring, evidence-based responses and training for professionals in the drug field (EC, 2021). During the COVID19 pandemic, due to the overall increased concern on mental health in the population, the EUDA conducted an ad-hoc study to its the impact on substance use and mental health, especially in people who use illicit drugs. Recent work has been done to improve the available epidemiological data on comorbidity in the current European drug monitoring tools and to describe models of care for the treatment of dual disorders in Europe. Further steps are being taken with the development of the recent new agency’s mandate. References: EMCDDA (2015), Comorbidity of substance use and mental disorders in Europe; Council of the European Union (2020), EU Drugs Strategy 2021-2025