Home > ASME Articles > Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders Prevalent Among Patients with High-Risk Diabetes
A risk algorithm developed from Duke University Health System electronic health records (EHRs) data was used to identify patients with high-risk diabetes for targeting home-based primary care. The EHR data of the 263 patients identified were analyzed to understand patterns of SUDs and MHDs to better inform care-coordinating efforts.
Both SUDs and MHDs were prevalent in this patient group, with 81.7% of the sample having SUD or MHD. A few of the numbers:
Substance use disorders:
48.3% any SUD
12.5% alcohol
38.8% tobacco
23.2% drug
Mental health disorders:
74.9% any MHD
53.2% mood
37.3% sleep
32.7% anxiety
14.8% schizophrenia/psychotic/delusional
14.4% dementia/delirium/amnestic/cognitive
9.1% adjustment
Elevated odds of SUD were noted among men (tobacco, alcohol) and those who were never married (alcohol, cannabis). African American race (vs. other race/ethnicity) was associated with lower odds of anxiety disorders.
Conclusions: While data are limited to one large academic health system, they provide clinical evidence revealing that 82% of patients with high-risk diabetes had SUD and/or MHD recorded in their health records, highlighting a need for developing service models to optimize high-risk care. With policy shifts toward value-based care, the time is right for allocating resources to investigate the magnitude of SUDs and associated comorbidities, and implementing Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) approaches, as well as office-based treatment of alcohol and opioid use disorders for high-need, high-risk patients with diabetes.