Comorbidity in pathological gambling: clinical variables, personality and treatment response

Abstract

Introduction: Pathological gambling shows high comorbidity rates, especially with substance use disorders, although affective, anxiety and other impulse control disorders, as well as personality disorders, are also frequently associated.

Objectives: To explore comorbidity in pathological gambling with other mental disorders in a consecutive sample of patients attending a unit specialized in pathological gambling, and specifically the relationship between substance-related disorders, on the one hand, and personality and clinical variables in pathological gamblers, on the other.

Method: A total of 498 patients with a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of Pathological Gambling (11.8% women) were assessed with a semi-structured clinical interview and several clinical and personality scales.

Results: Higher comorbidity with affective disorders was found in women (30.5%), while higher comorbidity with substance-related disorders was found in men (11.2%). A positive association was also detected between a history of psychiatric disorders and current comorbidity with substance-use disorders, as well as between alcohol abuse and age. Finally, some personality traits such as low reward dependence (OR=0.964) and high impulsivity (OR=1.02) predicted other substance abuse (not alcohol). High selftranscendence scores predicted both alcohol and other substance abuse (OR=1.06).

Conclusions: Our results suggest a high prevalence of comorbid disorders in pathologic gambling, mainly with affective and substance-related disorders. The results of the present study, conducted in a broad sample of consecutively admitted pathologic gamblers, may contribute to understanding of this complex disorder and treatment improvement.