Somatic comorbidity among persons with diagnosed gambling disorder: a Finnish nationwide register study

Session Title

Poster Session

Presenters

Tanja Grönroos, Finnish Institute for Health and WelfareFollow
Anne H. Salonen, Finnish Institute for Health and WelfareFollow
Tiina A. Latvala, Finnish Institute for Health and WelfareFollow
Anne Kouvonen, University of HelsinkiFollow

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Location

Park MGM, Las Vegas, NV

Start Date

24-5-2023 10:30 AM

End Date

24-5-2023 11:15 AM

Disciplines

Epidemiology | Social Policy | Substance Abuse and Addiction

Abstract

Previous register-based studies on comorbidity have mainly focused on gambling disorder (GD) and psychiatric disorders. However, knowledge on somatic health of persons with GD is also needed. This nationwide register-based study aims to examine the gender-specific prevalence rates of chronic diseases and conditions among Finnish adults with GD.

This study utilises aggregated data of persons aged 18 and over with GD diagnosis (ICD-10; F63.0) in 2011–2020 (n=2,617). The data were retrieved from the Finnish nationwide primary and secondary health care registers. All diagnostic groups were included. Age-adjusted corresponding figures for the total population with same age range are presented as references.

The most common comorbid somatic disorders among persons with GD were (persons with GD vs the general population): musculoskeletal diseases (61.6% vs 48.7%), digestive diseases (30.2% vs 20.5%), cardiovascular diseases (25.3% vs 21.5%), and nervous system diseases (23.9% vs 14.2%). Among persons with GD, comorbid disorders were more prevalent among women than among men.

All the somatic disorders were more prevalent among persons with GD than among the general population. These findings highlight the need for health and social care professionals to recognize that persons with GD may additionally have somatic disorders that need attention.

Keywords

gambling disorder, register-based study, comorbidity, chronic diseases and conditions

Author Bios

Tanja Grönroos is Master of Social Sciences in the field of Social Policy. She works as a researcher at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland. She is also a PhD student in Social Policy at the University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. Her research interests include gambling, inequality, well-being, and health, which she approaches using quantitative methods.

Anne H. Salonen, RN, is a Doctor of Health Sciences. She is working as a Research Manager at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland, and serving as an Associate Professor (Public Health) at the University of Eastern Finland. Her research interests include quantitative studies monitoring health and well-being. She is a principal investigator of the Finnish Gambling population study. Furthermore, her research group evaluates harmful gambling using register-based data sets.

Tiina A. Latvala is PhD in the field of public health. She works as a senior researcher at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland. Her research interests include societal costs of gambling, gambling, inequality, well-being, and health. She is familiar with quantitative methods.

Anne Kouvonen is Doctor of Social Sciences and Professor of Social Policy at the University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. She is also Honorary Professor in Social Epidemiology in the Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland. Her research focuses on the social determinants of health. In particular, she has been investigating employee mental health and socioeconomic inequalities of health.

Funding Sources

The study was funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland, within the objectives of the §52 Appropriation of the Lotteries Act. Daily work of the authors TG, AHS, and TL at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland, was also funded by the Ministry. AK was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) (grant ES/S00744X/1). The funders have had no role in the study design, analysis, or interpretation of the results of the manuscript or any phase of the publication process.

Competing Interests

None