Stimulants: epidemiology and impact on mental health

Since the second half of the 1990s, a global trend of escalating stimulant misuse (such as cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine/ MDMA and MDMA-like drugs, cathinone derivatives, and benzylpiperazine/BZP) was observed across a number of EU countries and the UK.

When reorganising statutory and non-statutory services to cope with this increasingly widespread clinical issue, the epidemiological approach is of paramount importance, and a clear appreciation of the levels of stimulant misuse is necessary in order to allocate the appropriate levels of resources.

Stimulant misuse is typically associated with an imbalance of neurotransmitters, especially dopamine. Therefore, practising psychiatrists need to be aware of the psychopathological consequences related to substance misuse in order to refine their own diagnostic and clinical management skills.