A significant number of patients admitted to a major U.S. hospital had alcohol or other drug problems, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

WebMD reported June 25 that researchers Patricia B. Santora, Ph.D., and Heidi E. Hutton, Ph.D., found that 13.7 percent of patients admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital between 1994 and 2002 had alcohol, tobacco, or other drug addiction disorders (ADAA), and that the cost of caring for these patients rose 134 percent during that time span.

Just one percent of patients were admitted solely for drug problems; the vast majority had other health problems, as well.

"Our results demonstrated the high prevalence of hospital admissions with co-occurring ADAA and the striking financial costs placed on the hospital, government programs, and insurers," according to the researchers.

About half of the patients were polydrug users, while a quarter used only alcohol and the rest used opioids or heroin only. The cost of treating opioid users rose 482 percent between 1994 and 2002.

The study was published in the July 2008 issue of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment.