Substance Abuse and Mental Health Corollary

   Substance Abuse treatment and Mental Health are the topics of this post— two things we should all be concerned about. This is additional data from the latest SAMHSA survey.

   For the complete survey results in easy to navigate form  click here

  

Substance Dependence, Abuse, and TreatmentIn 2008, an estimated 22.2 million persons (8.9 percent of the population aged 12 or older) were classified with substance dependence or abuse in the past year based on criteria specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV). Of these, 3.1 million were classified with dependence on or abuse of both alcohol and illicit drugs, 3.9 million were dependent on or abused illicit drugs but not alcohol, and 15.2 million were dependent on or abused alcohol but not illicit drugs.Between 2002 and 2008, there was no change in the number of persons with substance dependence or abuse (22.0 million in 2002 and 22.2 million in 2008).The specific illicit drugs that had the highest levels of past year dependence or abuse in 2008 were marijuana (4.2 million), followed by pain relievers (1.7 million) and cocaine (1.4 million).In 2008, adults aged 21 or older who had first used alcohol at age 14 or younger were more than 5 times as likely to be classified with alcohol dependence or abuse than adults who had their first drink at age 21 or older (15.1 vs. 2.6 percent).The rate of substance dependence or abuse for males aged 12 or older in 2008 was nearly twice as high as the rate for females (11.5 vs. 6.4 percent). Among youths aged 12 to 17, however, the rate of substance dependence or abuse was higher among females than males (8.2 vs. 7.0 percent).Between 2002 and 2008, the percentage of youths aged 12 to 17 with substance dependence or abuse declined from 8.9 to 7.6 percent.Treatment need is defined as having a substance use disorder or receiving treatment at a specialty facility (hospital inpatient, drug or alcohol rehabilitation, or mental health centers) within the past 12 months. In 2008, 23.1 million persons aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem (9.2 percent of persons aged 12 or older). Of these, 2.3 million (0.9 percent of persons aged 12 or older and 9.9 percent of those who needed treatment) received treatment at a specialty facility. Thus, 20.8 million persons (8.3 percent of the population aged 12 or older) needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem but did not receive treatment at a specialty substance abuse facility in the past year.Of the 20.8 million people in 2008 who were classified as needing substance use treatment but did not receive treatment at a specialty facility in the past year, 1.0 million persons (4.8 percent) reported that they felt they needed treatment for their illicit drug or alcohol use problem. Of these 1.0 million persons who felt they needed treatment, 233,000 (23.3 percent) reported that they made an effort to get treatment, and 766,000 (76.7 percent) reported making no effort to get treatment. Mental HealthSerious mental illness (SMI) among adults is defined in Public Law 102-321 as persons aged 18 or older who currently or at any time in the past year have had a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder (excluding developmental and substance use disorders) of sufficient duration to meet diagnostic criteria specified within DSM-IV that has resulted in functional impairment, which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities. In 2008, there were an estimated 9.8 million adults with SMI, representing 4.4 percent of adults.Rates of SMI in 2008 were highest for adults aged 18 to 25 (7.4 percent) and lowest for adults aged 50 or older (2.3 percent).The prevalence of SMI among women aged 18 or older (5.6 percent) was higher than that among men in that age group (3.0 percent).The rate of SMI was higher among adults who were unemployed (8.0 percent) than among those who were employed full time (3.5 percent) or part time (4.8 percent).SMI in the past year was associated with past year substance dependence or abuse. Among adults aged 18 or older with SMI in 2008, 25.2 percent (2.5 million) were dependent on or abused illicit drugs or alcohol. The rate among adults without SMI was 8.3 percent (17.9 million).Among the 9.8 million adults with SMI in 2008, 5.7 million (58.7 percent) used mental health services in the past year. Among all adults with SMI, 52.6 percent received a prescription medication, 40.5 percent received outpatient services, and 7.5 percent received inpatient services for a mental health problem in the past year.Among the 2.5 million adults with both SMI and substance dependence or abuse (i.e., a substance use disorder) in 2008, more than half (60.5 percent) received mental health care or substance use treatment at a specialty facility; 11.4 percent received both mental health care and specialty substance use treatment, 45.2 percent received only mental health care, and 3.7 percent received only specialty substance use treatment.In 2008, an estimated 8.3 million adults (3.7 percent) had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year. The rate was 3.9 percent among women and 3.4 percent among men. The rate was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (6.7 percent) compared with adults 26 to 49 (3.9 percent) and adults aged 50 or older (2.3 percent).Among adults aged 18 or older in 2008, 2.3 million (1.0 percent) made suicide plans in the past year, and 1.1 million (0.5 percent) reported attempting suicide. A half million adults reported staying overnight in a hospital as a result of their suicide attempt in the past year.In 2008, 6.4 percent of persons aged 18 or older (14.3 million persons) had at least one major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year. Over 1 in 25 adults (4.2 percent or 9.5 million persons) had past year MDE with severe impairment.In 2008, adults with past year MDE were more likely than those without MDE to be dependent on or abuse illicit drugs or alcohol (20.3 vs. 7.8 percent).Among adults aged 18 or older who had MDE in the past year in 2008, 71.0 percent received treatment (i.e., saw or talked to a medical doctor or other professional or used prescription medication) for depression in the same time period.Among adults aged 18 or older with MDE in the past year in 2008, women were more likely than men to receive treatment for depression in the past year (74.2 vs. 65.0 percent).In 2008, there were 2.0 million youths (8.3 percent of the population aged 12 to 17) who had MDE during the past year. An estimated 1.5 million (6.0 percent) had MDE with severe impairment in one or more role domains (chores at home; school or work; close relationships with family; or social life).The rate of MDE in the past year was higher for adolescent females (12.4 percent) than for adolescent males (4.3 percent). The prevalence of MDE with severe impairment was 9.2 percent for females and 2.9 percent for males.Among 12 to 17 year olds who had past year MDE in 2008, 37.4 percent had used illicit drugs during the same period. This was higher than the rate of 17.2 percent among youths who did not have past year MDE. Similarly, the rates of past month daily cigarette use and heavy alcohol use were higher for youths with MDE (3.6 and 3.4 percent, respectively) than for youths who did not have MDE (1.8 and 1.8 percent, respectively).In 2008, 37.7 percent of youths aged 12 to 17 with past year MDE received treatment for depression (saw or talked to a medical doctor or other professional or used prescription medication). Among youths with past year MDE, 21.7 percent saw or talked to a medical doctor or other professional only, 2.9 percent used prescription medication only, and 13.1 percent received treatment from both sources for depression in the past year.In 2008, 3.1 million youths aged 12 to 17 (12.7 percent) received treatment or counseling for problems with behavior or emotions in the specialty mental health setting (inpatient or outpatient care). Additionally, 11.8 percent of youths received services in the education setting, and 2.9 percent received mental health services in the general medical setting in the past 12 months. Mental health services were received in both the specialty setting and either the education or general medical settings (i.e., care from multiple settings) by 5.3 percent of youths.

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