New research from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences concludes that people with co-occurring addiction and mental-health problems visit emergency rooms more often than those with addictions alone, Reuters Health reported Dec. 11.

Researchers followed patients with alcohol and other drug disorders for 4-1/2 years. Patients were classified as having mental illness if doctors diagnosed them with a psychiatric disorder -- schizophrenia/psychoses, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and dementia -- during any emergency-room visit during the 54-month period.

The study authors found that, on average, patients with addictions and mental illness visited the emergency room more than twice as often as patients without mental illnesses. Cocaine users with mental illnesses were 3.5 times more likely to visit the emergency room four or more times than cocaine users without mental illnesses, for example.

"Psychiatric and substance use problems are commonly found to be contributing factors to frequent ER use," said lead author Geoffrey Curran.

The findings were published in the Dec. 3, 2008 issue of the journal BMC Emergency Medicine.