Although Gambling Disorder has been recognized in disease classification systems as an addictive behaviour with the V edition of the DSM (2015), addiction services have long since highlighted the presence of Gambling disorder as an additional diagnosis in patients with substance use disorder. Many services have begun to treat the DGA even before it was included in the essential levels of assistance (LEA) based on the request of the same patients who recognized themselves in the characteristics of patients with drug, alcohol or tobacco addiction and therefore accessed the SerDs recognizing them as appropriate services. Comorbidity rates have been established as significant, particularly with substance use, personality disorders, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders as the most common concomitant disorders with gambling. Evaluation of the effects of gambling symptoms on other psychiatric conditions is also extensive, concluding that in both cases, the co-presence of multiple disorders exacerbates any existing pathology, worsens treatment outcomes, and compromises overall functioning. This effect appears to positively correlate with the number of associated disorders.
Riferimenti bibliografici
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