46.2 Million Americans Met Criteria for SUD Diagnosis in 2021

PBHLN (1/06) –– In 2021, 46.3 million people aged 12 or older in the US—about 16.5% of the nation’s population—met the applicable DSM-5 criteria for having a substance use disorder. Of those, 94% did not receive any treatment. The findings come from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which was released this week [...] The survey has been published annually since 1971, although SAMHSA cautioned that estimates in the latest edition should not be compared with past years because the COVID-19 pandemic forced changes to its data collecting methods.

SAMHSA –– The release of the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) shows how people living in America reported about their experience with mental health conditions, substance use, and pursuit of treatment in 2021. [...] Among people aged 12 or older in 2021, 57.8% (or 161.8 million people) used tobacco, alcohol, or an illicit drug in the past month (also defined as “current use”). [...] In 2021, the percentage of people aged 12 or older with an SUD was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (25.6% or 8.6 million people), followed by adults aged 26 or older (16.1% or 35.5 million people), then by adolescents aged 12 to 17 (8.5% or 2.2 million people). Read more