Trend in Hospital Admissions of Drug Addicts and Associated Factors from 2006 to 2015: an Observational Study on the Hospitals' Discharge Registries from a Region of Central Italy

BACKGROUND: Several social, economic and political factors have contributed to the global spread of alcohol and other drugs. Drug addiction represents a huge expense for the society in terms of direct and indirect health and social consequences, as it is associated with numerous medical issues such as HIV, other infections and psychiatric disturbances. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was the assessment of the hospital admissions among drug addicted patients in Abruzzo Region, central Italy, from 2006 to 2015, in order to clarify the specific causes of hospitalization. METHODS: Data were collected from all hospital discharge records, taking into account only the hospital discharge registrations coded 304 (drug dependence). Multivariate logistic regression was performed to evaluate factors associated with main causes of the admission. RESULTS: Between 2006 and 2015, an amount of 2,159 drug-addicted subjects, aged 38.0±9.7 years, were admitted to hospital. Most of the admissions occurred in public hospitals (2,039, 94.4%), through the emergency room access (1,503, 69.6%) From an amount of 2,159 hospitalizations, 1,178 (54.6%) were first and 981 (45.4%) were subsequent admissions. The most frequent cause of hospitalization was "Psychosis" (419, 19.4%). The trend by range of age showed a progressive reduction in hospital admissions for patients aged < 45 y. Further, an increase in the hospitalization rate was estimated over recent years among drug addict subjects aged 25-45 years. Cannabis consumption was associated with mental disorder admissions (OR: 3.16, p<0.001), opioid consumption was associated with hepatic disorder admission (OR:2.16, p<0.001) and cardiovascular admissions (OR: 1,78, p<0.001), and cocaine was associated with cardiovascular admissions (OR:1,55, p:<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Mental disorders result to be the leading cause of hospitalization among drug-addicts, principally associated with cannabis abuse. Opioid and cocaine abuse was associated with hepatic and cardiovascular disorders.