Volberg R A, Abbott M W
Gemini Research, Northampton, MA 01060.
Int J Epidemiol. 1994 Oct;23(5):976-83. doi: 10.1093/ije/23.5.976.
Legalized gambling has proliferated recently in many countries and is a public health issue because of the association between gambling participation and the prevalence of pathological gambling. Relatively little is known about the epidemiology of this disorder or the characteristics of pathological gamblers living in the community. This paper summarizes the major findings of a national prevalence survey of pathological gambling conducted in New Zealand; the first national survey to have been conducted to date, and compares them with the results of studies undertaken in the US and Canada.
A national adult sample of 4053 people was interviewed by telephone to determine involvement in gambling activities. The interview included the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) for pathological gambling.
Of the sample, 2.7% (+/- 0.5%) scored as probable pathological gamblers and a further 4.2% (+/- 0.6%) scored as problem gamblers. These prevalence rates are higher than those reported in previous studies using the SOGS. Ethnicity, age, gender, employment status, having a parent who had gambling problems and regular participation in continuous forms of gambling were major risk factors.
In New Zealand pathological gambling appears to have a lifetime prevalence approximately half that of drug abuse/dependence. The findings suggest that prevalence has increased in recent years and provide a baseline for further study. The risk factors identified give a focus for future research into aetiology, prevention and treatment.
合法化赌博近年来在许多国家迅速蔓延，由于参与赌博与病态赌博的流行之间存在关联，它已成为一个公共卫生问题。对于这种疾病的流行病学或社区中病态赌徒的特征，人们了解得相对较少。本文总结了在新西兰进行的一项全国病态赌博患病率调查的主要结果；这是迄今为止进行的首次全国性调查，并将其与美国和加拿大的研究结果进行比较。
通过电话采访了一个由4053人组成的全国成年人样本，以确定其参与赌博活动的情况。访谈包括用于病态赌博的南橡树赌博筛查量表（SOGS）。
在样本中，2.7%（±0.5%）的人被判定为可能的病态赌徒，另有4.2%（±0.6%）的人被判定为问题赌徒。这些患病率高于以往使用SOGS的研究报告的患病率。种族、年龄、性别、就业状况、有赌博问题的父母以及经常参与持续性赌博形式是主要风险因素。
在新西兰，病态赌博的终生患病率似乎约为药物滥用/依赖终生患病率的一半。研究结果表明近年来患病率有所上升，并为进一步研究提供了基线。所确定的风险因素为病因学、预防和治疗的未来研究提供了重点。
