Substance abuse in schizophrenia. A Singapore perspective.
BACKGROUND
Most of the information on the prevalence and patterns of substance abuse in patients with schizophrenia has been from studies conducted in North America and Europe and data from Asian countries are conspicuously lacking. This study was undertaken with the aim to identify the prevalence and patterns of substance abuse among patients with first-episode schizophrenia in the city-state of Singapore.


METHODS
All new patients with a diagnosis of first-episode schizophrenia or schizophreniform disorder who were seen in one calendar year in the only state mental institute in Singapore and its affiliated outpatient clinics were evaluated for a lifetime history of substance use.


RESULTS
In a sample of 272 patients, 201 (73.6 %) were abstainers, 43 (15.8 %) had "mild" substance use and 28 (10.3 %) had "heavy" use patterns. Alcohol was the most frequently abused substance. The substance users were more likely to be males and were more likely to have a criminal record than abstainers.


CONCLUSIONS
To our knowledge, this is the first study that examines the co-morbidity of substance abuse in schizophrenia in an Asian population. Our findings once again highlight the fact that patients with schizophrenia are at a high risk for substance abuse.
Verma
Swapna K
SK
Department of Early Psychosis Intervention, Woodbridge Hospital & Institute of Mental Health, 10 Buangkok View, Singapore 539747. Swapna_VERMA@imh.com.sg
Subramaniam
Mythily
M
Chong
Siow-Ann
SA
Kua
E H
EH
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015897:Comorbidity; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*