- Jun 17, 2001
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DANCERS at clubs who take ecstasy are 25 per cent more likely to have a mental disorder, according to a survey published yesterday.
One in four had a potentially serious psychiatric disorder compared to the national average of one in five, showed the survey of 1,000 readers of the dance magazine Mixmag.
Respondents were also twice as likely to have seen a doctor about a mental health problem, with half of those concerned about depression.
In the survey, 98 per cent of readers said that they took ecstasy regularly and 45 per cent took cocaine.
Both drugs have been associated with problems such as paranoia, panic attacks and depression, and the figures add weight to research which has warned of their dangers.
One in 10 users believed that taking ecstasy had made their lives worse overall.
"The survey is bearing out studies from the laboratory which suggest ecstasy can cause depression," said Viv Craske, Mixmag senior editor.
"Our readers seem to be telling us that what the scientists have warned is true."
The publishers claim that the survey is the world's biggest and most detailed study of its kind and gives "the most accurate snapshot of drug taking in young Britain today".
It was carried out in conjunction with Dr Adam Winstock of the National Addiction Centre.
The survey suggested that drug use fell last year, with a sharp reduction in the popularity of "new" drugs such as ketamine and GHB.
Mr Craske said: "This year's results shows that clubbers' attitudes are changing. The year 2000 was all about bingeing on cheap E and experimenting with new drugs like ketamine and GHB.
"It was a phase. I think a lot of people who were doing binge drug-taking realised they were risking their physical and mental health."
Drug users had also been shaken by the death of Lorna Spinks, the 19-year-old student who died last May after taking ecstasy while visiting clubs in Cambridge.
One in four had a potentially serious psychiatric disorder compared to the national average of one in five, showed the survey of 1,000 readers of the dance magazine Mixmag.
Respondents were also twice as likely to have seen a doctor about a mental health problem, with half of those concerned about depression.
In the survey, 98 per cent of readers said that they took ecstasy regularly and 45 per cent took cocaine.
Both drugs have been associated with problems such as paranoia, panic attacks and depression, and the figures add weight to research which has warned of their dangers.
One in 10 users believed that taking ecstasy had made their lives worse overall.
"The survey is bearing out studies from the laboratory which suggest ecstasy can cause depression," said Viv Craske, Mixmag senior editor.
"Our readers seem to be telling us that what the scientists have warned is true."
The publishers claim that the survey is the world's biggest and most detailed study of its kind and gives "the most accurate snapshot of drug taking in young Britain today".
It was carried out in conjunction with Dr Adam Winstock of the National Addiction Centre.
The survey suggested that drug use fell last year, with a sharp reduction in the popularity of "new" drugs such as ketamine and GHB.
Mr Craske said: "This year's results shows that clubbers' attitudes are changing. The year 2000 was all about bingeing on cheap E and experimenting with new drugs like ketamine and GHB.
"It was a phase. I think a lot of people who were doing binge drug-taking realised they were risking their physical and mental health."
Drug users had also been shaken by the death of Lorna Spinks, the 19-year-old student who died last May after taking ecstasy while visiting clubs in Cambridge.
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