Psychiatric comorbidity was linked with diagnosed gambling disorder in Finland – A study based on a total population sample

Only few studies have evaluated gambling disorder (GD) based on total population samples. The prevalence rates of diagnosed GD are low in Finland; however, they increased among all age groups across genders, except for the women aged 60 or more in 2011-2020. This study examines the psychiatric comorbidity and main causes of death among person with diagnosed GD in Finland based on a total population sample. Aggregated data on adults with diagnosed GD (ICD-10: code F63.0) were retrieved from the following Finnish national registers: Register of Primary Health Care visits, and Care Register for Health Care, including specialised outpatient and inpatient health care, and inpatient social care. Primary and secondary diagnoses in 2011-2020 were included. Further, data on other psychiatric diagnoses (F00–F99), and causes of death were retrieved. Of persons with GD, 87.7 percent had been diagnosed with at least one additional psychiatric disorder. Comorbid psychiatric disorders were more prevalent among women with GD (92.1%) compared to men with GD (85.9%). Overall, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders were most common types of comorbid disorders. Out of the 2,617 persons with GD in 2011-2020, 54 persons (2.1%) had died. Every third death was a suicide death. The potential presence of comorbidity and increased risk for suicide death should be acknowledged by health and social care professionals when working with persons with addictive disorders including GD. Furthermore, interventions are needed to increase awareness of GD among both primary and specialized health care professionals and the public