Photo Credit: Agsandrew

Adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders have high rates of comorbid mental health and substance use disorders, according to a study published in Psychiatric Services. Natalie Bareis, PhD, and colleagues used data from the US Mental and Substance Use Disorders Prevalence Study to examine the treatment and clinical characteristics of US adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The researchers compared sociodemographic characteristics and comorbid behavioral health conditions for 4,764 adults with or without schizophrenia disorders. The most common comorbid conditions among 114 adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders were major depressive episodes (52%) and alcohol use, cannabis use, and posttraumatic stress disorders (23%, 20%, and 17%, respectively). People with schizophrenia spectrum disorders had lower Global Assessment of Functioning scores (mean, 44.8 ± 2.0 vs 77.2 ± 0.5) indicating worse functioning than those without. Seventy-one percent of adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders received at least some mental health treatment in the past year, and 26% received minimally adequate treatment.