Anxiety and depression symptoms in Chinese male patients with substance use disorder: Independent and comorbid networks

Anxiety and depression are prevalent among patients with substance use disorder (SUD), yet the mechanisms of their symptom-level interactions remain insufficiently understood. This study investigated 1586 male SUD patients (mean age = 35.91) in a Chinese drug rehabilitation center, using network analysis and Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs) to analyze their anxiety and depression. Results showed that fear and dizziness were the most central symptoms in the anxiety network and confusion was the most central symptom in the depression network. In the comorbidity network, apprehension was the key bridge symptom, and DAG further indicated mental disintegration as a triggering symptom for both anxiety and depression. These findings may indicate fear , dizziness, confusion , apprehension , and mental disintegration as relatively important symptoms, providing potential directions for future intervention research aimed at reducing comorbidity of anxiety and depression in SUD patients.