Pathological gambling in a psychiatric sample.

Objective: This study determines the prevalence of gambling difficulties in a consecutive sample of psychiatric inpatients and compares it with a nonpsychiatric inpatient sample. In addition, the gambling prevalence among all psychiatric disorders is analyzed.

Method: An observational study was conducted in psychiatric patients and sex- and age-matched nonpsychiatric patients. The psychiatric group (n = 100) included all consecutive patients admitted to the psychiatric unit of our hospital. The nonpsychiatric group (n = 100) included psychiatrically healthy inpatients from any other hospital unit. The National Opinion Research Center Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Screen for Gambling Problems was used to screen for gambling behavior.

Results: Gambling difficulties were experienced by 3% (2% pathological gambling and 1% problem gambling) of nonpsychiatric inpatients and 9% (8% pathological gambling and 1% problem gambling) of psychiatric inpatients, including 6 with psychotic disorders, 1 with mood disorder, 1 with adjustment disorder, and 1 with eating disorder. There were no statistical differences in gambling prevalence between groups. In terms of comorbidity, patients with psychotic disorder had a higher prevalence of gambling problems than other psychiatric disorders (P = .045).

Conclusions: A higher prevalence of gambling disorders was found in psychiatric inpatients than in nonpsychiatric inpatients. It may be advisable for therapists to routinely assess for gambling difficulties as part of the psychiatric evaluation.