Adults with methamphetamine use disorder frequently experienced comorbid psychiatric conditions, underscoring the need for research to explore causal mechanisms underlying the observed medical and psychiatric comorbidities.
Anxiety, depression, and psychotic disorders are the most common psychiatric conditions among patients with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD). These study findings were published in the Journal of Dual Diagnosis
Researchers from Centros de Integración Juvenil AC and Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz conducted a retrospective study to assess comorbidity trends in MUD from 2014 to 2023 among adults diagnosed with MUD
Using data from the Youth Integration Centers, researchers collected eligible study participants’ electronic clinical records for analysis. Eligible participants had to be aged at least 18 years and had a diagnosis for MUD, which was defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM). Researchers evaluated clinical histories such as cardiovascular, reproductive, respiratory, nervous, urinary, and integumentary symptoms by system. Types of substance use included for analysis were the use of alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, inhalants, and methamphetamines during the past 12 months and past month, including withdrawal time.
As has been found in the present study, methamphetamine use has both short- and long-term medical and psychiatric consequences, causing problems in all body systems (particularly the cardiovascular, digestive, and nervous systems)
A total of 8713 study participants (mean age, 29.62 years; 82.8% men) were included for final analysis. The study population started using methamphetamines at a mean age of 23.2 years, and 43.9% reported that their father and mother had a substance use disorder. The most common substance observed in family history was alcohol (over 50%).
Stratifying by sex, researchers noted significant differences in family antecedents of mental health disorders and substance use between women and men:
- Women vs men:
- Depression (15.6% vs 8.9%, respectively; P <.001);
- Psychosis (5.8% vs 3.4%, respectively; P <.001);
- Anxiety (5.1% vs 3.4%, respectively; P <.001);
- Bipolar disorder (2.3% vs 0.9%, respectively; P <.001);
- Family history of methamphetamine use (26.6% vs 18.2%, respectively; P <.001);
- Family history of marijuana use (20.3% vs 14.8%, respectively; P <.001);
- Family history of tobacco use (33.5% vs 30.4%, respectively; P <.05);
- Substance use or psychiatric disorder among mothers (20.1% vs 11.5%, respectively; P <.001);
- Substance use among mother and father (48.1% vs 43.2%, respectively; P <.001); and
- Substance use among siblings (39.7% vs 35.7%, respectively; P <.001).
- Men vs women:
- Past-month use of tobacco (86.5% vs 82.1%; P <.001);
- Past-month use of alcohol (68.6% vs 64.9%; P <.001);
- Past-month use of marijuana (32.0% vs 27.4%; P <.05); and
- Injection drugs (2.5% vs 1.5%; P<.05)
However, men vs women reported lower use of benzodiazepines, hallucinogens, inhalants, and/or opioids (6.1% vs 8.4%, respectively; P<.001).
Men vs women also reported a younger age at the onset of marijuana (mean age, 16.7 vs 18.3 years, respectively; P <.001), alcohol (mean age, 15.3 vs 16.0 years, respectively; P <.001), and tobacco (mean age, 15.4 vs 16.5 years, respectively; P <.001)
More women vs men reported trading sex for drugs (5.2% vs 2.8%, respectively; P <.001), having sex while intoxicated (22.6% vs 20.2%, respectively; P <.05), and having sex without a condom (24.6% vs 22.1%, respectively; P <.05), but fewer reported having sex with a sex worker (3.2% vs 8.0%, respectively; P <.001)
Most individuals reported a mental or behavioral disorder (62.8%), with the most frequent being anxiety (25.2%), depression (23.9%), psychotic disorders (11.3%), and borderline personality disorder (10.1%). Psychotic disorders were more common among men vs women (12.1% vs 7.1%, respectively; P <.001), while the other common mental disorders, such as depressive disorder, borderline personality disorder, and bipolar disorder (P <.001, P <.001, and P <.05, respectively), were more common among women.
Medical comorbidities were common in the study population (59.3%), including nervous (42.9%), digestive (25.4%), cardiovascular (16.9%), and musculoskeletal (14.4%) conditions
Study limitations include its study design that lacks exhaustive exploration of medical conditions in people with MUD and does not allow for greater control of recording medical and psychiatric conditions, possible over generalization of the women participants since they made up 20% of the entire sample, and focusing on comorbidities related to methamphetamine use and not other substances
The study authors concluded, “As has been found in the present study, methamphetamine use has both short- and long-term medical and psychiatric consequences, causing problems in all body systems (particularly the cardiovascular, digestive, and nervous systems).”
Marín-Navarrete R, Sánchez-Domínguez R, Fernández-Cáceres C, Saracco-Álvarez R.Medical symptoms and psychiatric comorbidities in people with methamphetamine use disorder.J Dual Diagn. 2026;22(3):1-14. doi:10.1080/15504263.2026.2686086
