Stay Informed

Sign up for news & alerts

Already signed up?
Login here
What Can I Do?


Get Help
Need alcohol or drug help for yourself or someone else? GET HELP
Continuing Education
Free online courses for addiction counselors LEARN ONLINE
Resources
Resources
Find useful publications, online documents & more.


DrugScreening.org


 
Dual Diagnosis Program Effective, Study Says
February 11, 2008

Share Share Email
Email
Print
Print
SubscribeSubscribe
Research Summary

Irish researchers say that programs designed to meet the specific needs of depressed and bipolar alcoholics can effectively improve mood and lower craving and alcohol consumption, MedWire News reported Feb. 8.

Researchers Conor Farren and Sharon McElroy of St. Patrick's Hospital in Dublin tested an inpatient treatment program for dually diagnosed patients, tracking 226 patients at admission, discharge, and three and six months after discharge. They found that the specialized program reduced drinking days and average drinking amount per day among both depressed and bipolar alcoholics. Among depressed patients, the abstinence rate was 71 percent at three months post-discharge and 55.8 percent at six months. Among the bipolar group, abstinence rates were 64.7 percent at three months and 54.1 percent at six months.

"This study found evidence of treatment efficacy for an inpatient integrated dual diagnosis program, with both depressed and bipolar alcoholics having significant diminution in their affective and alcohol outcomes on 3-month follow-up, with improvements being maintained at 6-month follow-up," the researchers wrote.

The study was published in the March 2008 issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders.
This article summarizes an external report or press release on research published in a scientific journal. When available, links to the sources are provided above.

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by Peter O'Loughlin on 20 Feb 08 07:02 AM EST
What a shame we have yet to wake up to offering similar facilities here in England. We have known for some years that issues of comorbidity and alcohol and or drug problems, tend to ne intractable, unless the co-occuring disorders are treated in parralel. The Uk government is aware, or should be aware of this, yet nowhere in its recently issued alcohol strategy is there any mention of the problems, or strategies for treating them. What we do have however is subliminal promotion of alcohol, with a message on almost every page that 'more needs to be done to promote sensible drinking'. Given that the first organ in the body to be influenced by alcohol is that part of the brain which closes down inhibitions, that sounds like a contradiction in terms. But then again so is everything else our ineffective politicians do, except for their 'gold plated pensions' and secret expense allowances.

Your Turn! Post a public comment (read guidelines):

Name:

Comment:
(limit 200
words)
Enter this word
(help):		 Change

GUIDELINES: 
To keep this feature useful for all, please:

  1. Keep it clean, courteous, and on-topic. Comments are meant for thoughtful discussion of the article published above.

  2. Do not post promotional links to organizations, products or services, or personal requests for assistance (get help).

  3. Proof your comments carefully, use good spelling and punctuation, and don't use ALL CAPS. Comments are published immediately and cannot be edited.

Deceptive, slanderous and commercially-motivated posts are prohibited. We reserve the right to remove comments not conforming to these guidelines. (Report a comment).

Have questions or feedback? Contact us.