ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Minerva Psychiatry 2022 March;63(1):11-8

DOI: 10.23736/S2724-6612.21.02161-0

Copyright © 2021 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Mental health and socio-economical profiles of injecting drug users

Eli KPELLY ¹ ✉, Silke SCHAUDER ², Charlemagne MOUKOUTA ³, Komlan YENKEY ⁴, Komlan M. GBETOGBE ⁵

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France; ² Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology, University of Picardy Jules Verne, Amiens, France; ³ Department of Psychopathology, University of Picardy Jules Verne, Amiens, France; ⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Picardy Jules Verne, Amiens, France; ⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Pyrenees Hospital Center in Pau, Pau, France

BACKGROUND: Many studies have shown the consequences of injecting drugs. Psychiatric disorders are well known among the dangers and adverse health effects. The aim of this article was to develop the socio-economical profiles of injecting drug users and the prevalence of mental health disorders associated with drug use.
METHODS: The study of a population of 384 injecting drug users in Togo was conducted using the diagnostic tool Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI,) and a specially designed questionnaire.
RESULTS: The results revealed profiles characterized by marked male predominance and psychological fragility (modest education level, unemployment, single, and/or death of a parent). In addition, the review demonstrates a high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities with drug addictions, the most common of which are depressive disorders, anxiety and panic disorders, antisocial personality disorders and psychotic disorders.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results are tempered by some limitations: these are outpatient users, and the cross-cultural dimension is not taken into account in the use of the diagnostic tool MINI.

KEY WORDS: Drug users; Psychiatry; Comorbidity