New research suggests that over nine million Americans had a 12-month drug use disorder (DUD) diagnosis, and 9.1% had a lifetime diagnosis, under the currently accepted diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (DSM-5), Medical News Today reports. What’s more, less than a quarter (24.6 percent) of people with lifetime DUDs received any kind of treatment.
Using data from the 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III), Bridget F. Grant, PhD, and her team of researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), looked at the prevalence and treatment of DUDs. The drugs the researchers focused on included:
- Amphetamines
- Cannabis
- Club Drug
- Cocaine
- Hallucinogens
- Heroin
- Nonheroin Opioids
- Sedative/Tranquilizers
- Solvent/Inhalants
- Men
- White and Native American individuals.
- Young, divorced or never married adults.
- People with lower incomes and education.
- People living in the Western U.S.
"Findings also indicate an urgent need to destigmatize DUD and educate the public, clinicians, and policymakers about its treatment to encourage affected individuals to obtain help," said the researchers.
The research was published in JAMA Psychiatry.