Unmet Need for Substance Use Treatment in the US

"NSDUH includes questions that are used to identify people who needed substance use treatment (i.e., treatment for problems related to the use of alcohol or illicit drugs) in the past year. For NSDUH, people are defined as needing substance use treatment if they had an SUD in the past year or if they received substance use treatment at a specialty facility³² in the past year.^33,34
"In 2016, an estimated 21.0 million people aged 12 or older needed substance use treatment. Stated another way, about 1 in 13 people aged 12 or older (7.8 percent) needed substance use treatment (Figure 45).34 About 1.1 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 needed treatment for a substance use problem in the past year, representing 4.4 percent of adolescents. About 5.3 million young adults aged 18 to 25 needed treatment for a substance use problem in the past year, representing 15.5 percent of young adults. Stated another way, about 1 in 7 young adults needed substance use treatment. About 14.5 million adults aged 26 or older needed substance use treatment in the past year, which represents 6.9 percent of adults in this age group."