Dual Diagnosis: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Relationship With Suicide Risk in a Nationwide Sample of French Prisoners

This study described French prisoners with a dual diagnosis, compared them with 3 other groups of prisoners(no diagnosis, substance use disorder alone, or other isolated psychiatric disorders) & evaluated the impact of dual diagnosis on suicide risk in prison. A random stratified strategy was used to select 23 types of prisons & 998 prisoners. Of the prisoners, 26.3% had a dual diagnosis. Dual diagnosis showed the strongest association with suicide risk. Systematic psychiatric & substance use disorder screening of prisoners with either a substance use disorder or an axis I psychiatric disorder should be encouraged. (39 refs.)