Alcohol Use Disorder and Psychiatric Illnesses in Eastern Uganda: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: High levels of alcohol used disorder (AUD) have been reported among patients with mental illnesses worldwide. However, little has been investigated about alcohol use disorder and mental illnesses in Uganda. This study aims to determine the prevalence of Alcohol use disorder and associated socio-demographic factors in patients already having another psychiatric disorder attending Jinja Regional Referral Hospital. Methods: we conducted a hospital based cross sectional study among adults living with mental illnesses by assessing their alcohol use using Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) for alcohol use disorder. The Researchers adopted a predictive design and the questionnaires used for the study was comprised of independent variables including clinical and social-demographic factors, the dependent variable was alcohol use disorder. STATA 15 was used to analyze the data. Results: A total of 300 patients were interviewed. The average age was 34.4years (± 9.037), males were 55.7%. 25.3%; of Participants had AUD and majority of them had a severe alcohol use disorder according to the AUDIT categorization (43/76). The factors associated were; being a male (aOR =1.683, C I= 1.163-2.940, P=0.048) Findings: The prevalence of AUD among adults having another psychiatric disorder was high (25.3%) and severe. Male sex was the main associated factor of AUD. However age, marital status and occupation were not significantly associated with alcohol use disorder. Conclusion: Regular screening of all patients having psychiatric disorder for substance use disorders including alcohol will contribute to prevention and appropriate intervention of AUD among adult living with mental illness.