Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Quality of Outpatient Depression Treatment in Patients With Comorbid Substance Use Disorder.

Coughlin LN, Pfeiffer P, Ganoczy D, Lin LA. Quality of Outpatient Depression Treatment in Patients With Comorbid Substance Use Disorder. The American journal of psychiatry. 2021 May 1; 178(5):414-423.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: Clinical practice guidelines recommend concurrent treatment of co-occurring depression and substance use disorders; however, the degree to which patients with substance use disorders receive guideline-concordant treatment for depression is unknown. The authors investigated the provision of guideline-concordant depression treatment to patients with and without substance use disorders in a large integrated health care system. METHODS: In a retrospective cohort study of 53,034 patients diagnosed with a depressive disorder in fiscal year 2017 in the U.S. Veterans Health Administration, the authors assessed the association of comorbid substance use disorders with guideline-concordant depression treatment, including both medication and psychotherapy, while adjusting for patient demographic and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: Guideline-concordant depression treatment was lower across metrics for patients with co-occurring depression and substance use disorders compared to those without substance use disorders. Consistent findings emerged in covariate-adjusted models of antidepressant treatment, such that patients with substance use disorders had 21% lower odds of guideline-concordant acute treatment (adjusted odds ratio = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.73, 0.84) and 26% lower odds of continuation of treatment (adjusted odds ratio = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.69, 0.79). With regard to psychotherapy, patients with co-occurring depression and substance use disorders had 13% lower odds (adjusted odds ratio = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.82, 0.91) of adequate acute-phase treatment and 19% lower odds (adjusted odds ratio = 0.81; 95% CI = 0.73, 0.89) of psychotherapy continuation. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the availability of effective treatments for depression, patients with co-occurring substance use disorders are less likely to receive guideline-concordant depression treatment. Efforts to improve the provision of care to those with co-occurring substance use disorders should focus on clinician-based interventions and use of integrated care models to improve the quality of depression treatment.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.