Co-Morbid Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Mood Disorder in a South African Sample of Substance Use Disorder Patients

Background: The brain reward circuitry is contemplated to underlie co-occurrence of At-tention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and to possibly impact mood disorders. This study aimed to establish if any difference existed in the severity of depression symptomology between SUD comorbid with and without ADHD. Methods: A multi-centre, cross-sectional comparison study design drew study participants from substance use treatment facilities within South Africa. Participants were screened for ADHD and depression, with selective application of a confirmatory ADHD diagnostic interview. Participants were diagnostically grouped according (SUD + ADHD, SUD – ADHD) with application of a 2x2x3 ANOVA model. Results: A significant main effect of ADHD diagnosis and gender on depressive symptoms was identified. Post-hoc analysis revealed only male ADHD subjects had significantly higher scores on the Beck Scale than non-ADHD males. Conclusions: Co-occurring disorder (COD) prevalence rates were higher than most other South African studies. Aggravation of ADHD on mood dis-order symptom severity is consistent with existing literature, however further investiga-tion is warranted to determine if the interaction of gender remains only significant for men with a bigger sample size. The identified COD prevalence rate contrasts with other South Africa studies, emphasising the need for comprehensive psychiatric co-morbidity screen-ing in SUD treatment settings.