Drug-Use Data Reveal Some Progress But Also Alarming Trends

While there has been a decline in alcohol and cigarette use among people aged 12 to 25 from 2014 to 2015, the incidence of mental illness has increased. Moreover, there continues to be a large disparity between the number of people who need substance use treatment and access it: of the 21.7 million people aged 12 and older who needed such treatment, only 3 million received it.

These are the latest findings released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Abuse and Health (NSDUH).

“The data paint a picture of great concern for our mental health care system and what is being delivered to people with mental health problems,” said SAMHSA Principle Deputy Administrator Kana Enomoto, M.A., at a press conference. “Our country must redouble its efforts to provide evidence-based prevention and treatment services in every community to ensure all Americans get the help and hope they need to lead healthy and productive lives.”

The data were released during the 27th annual observance of National Recovery Month in September, a month dedicated to making the public aware that “behavioral health is essential to health, prevention works, treatment for substance use and mental disorders is effective, and people can and do recover from these disorders.”

The survey included information from approximately 67,500 people throughout the country, aged 12 and older, who were surveyed on illicit drug use and mental health status within the past year.

The survey found that overall rates for current (past month) cigarette smoking dropped from 20 percent in 2014 to 19.4 percent in 2015. The drop was even greater in people aged 12 to 25, from an average of 21.4 percent to 15.5 percent.

Similar trends were observed pertaining to rates for alcohol use. Prevalence of current alcohol use among people 12 and older decreased from 52.7 percent in 2014 to 51.7 percent in 2015, and rates for alcohol use disorder decreased from 6.4 percent to 5.9 percent in the same period. Adolescents aged 12 to 17 had the largest decrease in current alcohol use, dropping from 11.5 percent to 9.6 percent from 2014 to 2015, while young adults aged 18 to 25 had the largest decrease in alcohol use disorder, from 12.3 percent to 10.9 percent.

Marijuana use among people aged 12 and older remained relatively stable from 2014 to 2015, at about 8 percent. Levels of heroin use and cocaine use also remained stable compared with the previous year.

For the first time, the NSDUH collected data on misuse of prescription painkillers and found that 3.8 million people aged 12 and older misused such drugs.

“We know that evidence-based prevention efforts are the most effective way to reduce drug use,” said Michael Botticelli, director of National Drug Control Policy, at a press conference. “That is why the president has repeatedly called for $1.1 billion in new funding for states to expand access to treatment. Every day that passes without congressional action to provide these additional resources is a missed opportunity to save lives.”

Botticelli emphasized that efforts to pressure Congress to expand such treatment is of utmost importance to those involved in mental health services.

Regarding other types of mental illness, the NSDUH found that in 2015, 43.4 million (17.9 percent) adults aged 18 and older experienced some form of mental illness in the past year, with 9.8 million adults experiencing serious mental illness. These findings were comparable to 2014 data. There was a slight increase in rates for any mental illness among people aged 18 to 25, rising from 20.1 percent in 2014 to 21.7 percent in 2015. Young adults also had a slight uptick in depressive episodes, increasing from 9.3 percent in 2014 to 10.3 in 2015.

An estimated 34.2 million adults aged 18 or older received mental health care in the past 12 months in 2015, including 6.4 million adults with past-year serious mental illness.

“These findings emphasize the importance of intervening early to identify signs and symptoms of mental health problems,” said Enomoto. “Getting people to the treatment that they need as soon as possible is the right step toward treatment and recovery.” ■

The NSDUH report can be accessed here.