title: Life-time problem drinking and psychiatric co-morbidity among Ontario women.
abstract: Women problem drinkers in the community, aged 15-64 years, with and without life-time psychiatric co-morbidity were compared to examine the association of this co-morbidity with alcohol consumption patterns, course and chronicity of problem drinking, treatment service utilization and other substance use and misuse. The women problem drinkers were also compared with non-problem drinkers on substance use patterns and utilization of services. The study employs data from the Mental Health Supplement to the Ontario Health Survey, a province-wide household population study. The University of Michigan Composite International Diagnostic Interview (UM-CIDI) was administered by trained lay interviewers and subsequently World Health Organization computer algorithms were used to generate DSM-III-R diagnoses based on the interview responses. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that psychiatric co-morbidity was associated with less education, earlier onset of problem drinking and one indicator of binge drinking. Co-morbidity also greatly increased the chances of women problem drinkers having sought mental health treatment. Women problem drinkers were significantly younger (about 7 years) than women in the general population, perhaps an indicator of an increased mortality rate.
authors.affiliation: Addiction Research Foundation, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shirley
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario / Q000453:epidemiology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D015995:Prevalence; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology