[Migration Background and Pathological Gambling: Results of a Nationwide Epidemiological Study on the Impact of Region of Origin in Germany].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the extent to which the presence and number of symptoms of pathological gambling (PG), distinguished by region of origin (RO), differ.

METHODS: Data was obtained from a nationwide telephone survey of 15 023 individuals living in Germany and aged 14-64 years. They were categorized according to their RO and the number of symptoms of PG (0-10 DSM-IV-criteria).

RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence of PG symptoms is 18.1% for people of the RO Turkey, 9.0% for those of the RO Yugoslavia and 6.8% for those without a migration background. Compared to the latter, the two-part count data regression method showed a higher chance of PG symptoms for the RO Turkey as well as a 70.3 and 87.2% increase in the number of symptoms for the RO Turkey and Yugoslavia, respectively.

CONCLUSION: The RO could independently contribute to the presence and amount of symptoms of PG.