Abstract
Background
Since cocaine use is associated with a wide range of mental disorders, early detection of these comorbidities, coupled with a more accurate characterization of these groups, is essential if treatment prognosis is to be improved.
Method
A multicenter, prospective cross-sectional study with 337 cocaine or crack users, treated at outpatient addiction units. The Mini-international Neuropsychiatric Interview was used to determine the presence of mental disorders. Bivariate analyses were conducted to identify differences between users of other drugs and cocaine. Comparisons were also made between powder cocaine and crack users and men and women belonging to these two subgroups.
Results
Antisocial personality disorder was the most prevalent disorder followed by psychosis, agoraphobia, major depressive episode and alcohol dependence. Among cocaine and crack users, the main differences occurred between bipolar and OCD disorders. Differences were also observed between the groups in regard to distribution by sex and educational attainment.
Conclusions
Evidence was found of the relationship between cocaine use and certain disorders, together with significant differences between powder cocaine and crack users. The sex of users is a determining factor among cocaine users.