Psychiatric Comorbidity in Tropical Far North Queensland

• Main Authors: S. L. Shipley, N. J. Caltabiano, D. G. Graham
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: James Cook University 2002-02-01
• Series: eTropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics
• Subjects: psychiatric comorbidity; cairns; north queensland; tropical australia
• Online Access: https://journals.jcu.edu.au/etropic/article/view/3452/3390

Psychiatric comorbidity can be defined as the occurrence of at least one mental disorder plus one substance abuse disorder in the same person. Much research has been conducted on how to identify psychiatric comorbidity, and the barriers that mental health professionals have towards individuals with psychiatric comorbidity. The objective of this study is to provide baseline data that is required for researching such issues as prevalence rates, demographic indicators and possible links between disorders. The research was conducted in a community setting within the Crisis Assessment Treatment Team (CATT) of Cairns, a city situated in the tropical far north of the state of Queensland, Australia. The analyses focused on descriptive statistics and determining the predictors of comorbidity. The general finding of this study indicated that within this region the prevalence rate of psychiatric comorbidity was 52 percent. It is estimated that in Australia, between 32% to 87% of psychiatric patients also have alcohol or other drug problems. Age, residential area and poly-drug usage were significant predictors of comorbidity.