Substance use disorder among older adults in the United States in 2020

The percentage of adults with an alcohol use disorder remained steady between 2011 and 2014; however, the percentage in 2014 (6.8 percent) was lower than the percentages in 2002 to 2010. The percentage of adults with an illicit drug use disorder in 2014 was similar to previous years, with the exception of 2011. Among adolescents aged 12 to 17, perceived great risk substance abuse in older adults of harm from smoking marijuana weekly declined from 40.6 percent in 2015 to 34.6 percent in 2019 (Figure 34 and 2019 DT 7.34). Adolescents’ perceptions of great risk of harm from substance use also declined slightly from 2015 to 2019 for smoking one or more packs of cigarettes per day (from 68.2 to 65.0 percent) and weekly cocaine use (from 80.2 to 78.7 percent).

These estimates of past year heroin use in 2019 were higher than those in most years from 2002 through 2013, but they were similar to those in 2014 to 2018. Among people aged 12 or older, the percentage who used illicit drugs in the past year increased from 17.8 percent (or 47.7 million people) in 2015 to 20.8 percent (or 57.2 million people) in 2019 (Figure 11 and 2019 DT 7.2). Among young adults aged 18 to 25, the percentage who were past month heavy alcohol users declined from 10.9 percent (or 3.8 million people) in 2015 to 8.4 percent (or 2.8 million people) in 2019 (Figure 9 and 2019 DT 7.12).

Medication-Assisted Treatment for Alcohol Use or Opioid Misuse

NSDUH covers residents of households and people in noninstitutional group quarters (e.g., shelters, boarding houses, college dormitories, migratory workers’ camps, halfway houses). The survey excludes people with no fixed address (e.g., people who are homeless and not in shelters), military personnel on active duty, and residents of institutional group quarters, such as jails, nursing homes, mental institutions, and long-term care hospitals. A plain language summary of prescription opioids that explains effects on the brain and reported use. There has been little research on the effects of vaping nicotine (e-cigarettes) among older adults; however, certain risks exist in all age groups. Some research suggests that e-cigarettes might be less harmful than cigarettes when people who regularly smoke switch to vaping as a complete replacement.

• Among young adults aged 18 to 25, the percentage with past year SMI increased from 3.8 percent (or 1.2 million people) in 2008 to 8.6 percent (or 2.9 million people) in 2019 (Figure 52 and 2019 DT 10.3).
• This percentage in 2019 was higher than the percentages in most years from 2002 through 2018.
• Among the 8.9 million adults aged 26 to 49 in 2019 who had a past year MDE, 68.9 percent (or 6.1 million people) received treatment for depression in the past year (Figure 72 and 2019 DT 10.32 and 10.34).
• Statistics indicate that some demographics and communities face elevated risks of drug abuse and drug disorders.

Among the 3.4 million young adults aged 18 to 25 in 2019 who had a past year MDE with severe impairment, 56.4 percent (or 1.9 million people) received treatment for depression in the past year (2019 DT 10.33 and 10.35). This percentage in 2019 was similar to the percentages in most years from 2009 through 2018. Among the 13.1 million adults aged 18 or older in 2019 who had a past year MDE with severe impairment, 72.2 percent (or 9.5 million people) received treatment for depression in the past year (2019 DT 10.33 and 10.35). Among adults aged 26 or older in 2019 with a past year SUD who did not receive substance use treatment at a specialty facility, 4.8 percent perceived that they needed treatment. Among young adults in 2019 with a past year SUD who did not receive substance use treatment at a specialty facility, 3.5 percent perceived that they needed treatment.

Initiation of Substance Use

Although this was not the chief cause of drug-related ED visits for this age group, use of illicit drugs, use of drugs combined with alcohol, and nonmedical use of pharmaceuticals resulted in nearly 300 ED visits each day. 33 To measure initiation for most substances, NSDUH respondents who reported they ever used a particular substance were asked to report their age when they first used it. To measure initiation of prescription drug misuse (i.e., misuse of pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives), NSDUH respondents who reported they misused a particular prescription drug in the past 12 months were asked to report their age when they first misused it. Respondents who reported first use (or misuse in the case of prescription drugs) of a substance within a year of their current age also were asked to report the year and month when they first used (or misused) it. In addition, 23.4 percent of these adults with SMI were concerned about being committed to a psychiatric hospital or having to take medication.

As noted in the section on Substance Use in the Past Month, the 2019 NSDUH asked respondents aged 12 or older about their tobacco use in the 30 days before the interview but did not ask about the use of electronic vaporizing devices (“vaping”) for nicotine products. Tobacco products include cigarettes, smokeless tobacco (such as snuff, dip, chewing tobacco, or snus), cigars, and pipe tobacco.15 Throughout this report, use of any tobacco product does not include vaping of nicotine products. Drug and alcohol abuse have impacted seniors in the United States as it has among younger Americans. Over 5,000 people ages 65 and over in the U.S. died of a drug overdose in 2020, and more than twice that many (11,616) died of alcohol-induced causes. The data are featured in two new reports released today by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

Drug Abuse Treatment & Prevention

The finding that one third or more of assessments for substance use treatment reported more severe psychiatric problems is also consistent with previous research documenting high rates of mental illness among persons with substance use disorder (8). This report focuses on data from 2019, preceding the COVID-19 pandemic; how these trends changed during the pandemic will be the subject of a future report. NAVIPPRO ASI-MV tool is a validated self-administered, computerized, structured clinical assessment tool administered upon admission to a substance use treatment facility (5); the questionnaire is designed to assess each of seven biopsychosocial domains that might affect a respondent’s substance use. A rating is calculated for each domain, indicating the severity of the problem and the need for treatment.

• Among adults aged 26 or older in 2019, 11.9 percent (or 25.7 million people) perceived that they ever had a problem with their use of alcohol or other drugs (Table A.6B and 2019 DT 6.32), which was similar to the percentage in 2018 (11.7 percent).
• The percentage of current cigarette smokers in 2019 who were daily cigarette smokers (58.4 percent) was lower in most years than the percentages in 2002 to 2012, but it was similar to the percentages in 2013 to 2018.
• Although some in-person data were collected in early 2020 before the pandemic hit the United States, no data were collected from mid-March through September 2020.

Estimates of the misuse of prescription tranquilizers or sedatives are presented together because prescription drugs in both categories have a common effect on specific activity in the brain. Prescription tranquilizers include benzodiazepine tranquilizers (e.g., as alprazolam, lorazepam, clonazepam, or diazepam products), muscle relaxants, or any other prescription tranquilizer. Prescription sedatives include zolpidem products, eszopiclone products, zaleplon products, benzodiazepine sedatives (e.g., as flurazepam and temazepam products or triazolam products), barbiturates, or any other prescription sedative. Among adults aged 26 or older, the percentage who were past year heroin users increased from 0.1 percent (or 231,000 people) in 2002 to 0.3 percent (or 658,000 people) in 2019 (Figure 14 and 2019 DT 7.14).

Among adolescents aged 12 to 17, the number of past year initiates of cigarette smoking declined from 1.2 million people in 2002 to 541,000 people in 2019 (2019 DT 7.41). This number in 2019 was lower than the numbers in 2002 to 2016, but it was similar to the numbers in 2017 and 2018. The number of adolescents in 2019 who initiated cigarette smoking in the past year averaged to about 1,500 https://ecosoberhouse.com/ adolescents each day (Table A.3A). Among adults aged 26 or older in 2019, 0.4 percent (or 822,000 people) used inhalants in the past year (Figure 17 and 2019 DT 7.14). Among people aged 12 or older, the percentage who were past year inhalant users increased from 0.6 percent (or 1.7 million people) in 2016 to 0.8 percent (or 2.1 million people) in 2019 (Figure 17 and 2019 DT 7.2).