SAMHSA Releases 2023 NSDUH Substance Use Estimates

The US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released its 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Annual Report on July 30, 2024.

According to SAMHSA's news release:

"The 2023 NSDUH Report includes the following selected key findings.

"Mental Health:

• "Among adults aged 18 or older in 2023, 22.8% (or 58.7 million people) had any mental illness (AMI) in the past year.
• "4.5 million youth (ages 12 to 17) had a major depressive episode in the past year, of which nearly 1 in 5 also had a substance use disorder.
• "Among adults aged 18 or older in 2023, 5.0% (or 12.8 million people) had serious thoughts of suicide, 1.4% (or 3.7 million people) made a suicide plan, and 0.6% (or 1.5 million people) attempted suicide in the past year.
• "Multiracial adults aged 18 or older were more likely than adults in most other racial or ethnic groups to have AMI, serious mental illness (SMI), and serious thoughts of suicide.
• "Estimates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among adults in 2023 were comparable to 2022 and 2021.

"Substance Use:

• "In 2023, 3.1% of people (8.9 million) misused opioids in the past year, which is similar to 2022 and 2021 (3.2% and 8.9 million, 3.4% and 9.4 million respectively).
• "Among the 134.7 million people aged 12 or older who currently used alcohol in 2023, 61.4 million people (or 45.6%) had engaged in binge drinking in the past month.
• "Marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug, with 21.8% of people aged 12 or older (or 61.8 million people) using it in the past year.
• "American Indian or Alaska Native and Multiracial people were more likely than most other racial or ethnic groups to have used substances or to have had an SUD in the past year.
• "In 2023, 9.4% of people aged 12 or older vaped nicotine in the past month, up from 8.3% in 2022.
  • "In the past year, more people initiated vaping (5.9 million people) compared to any other substance.
  • "Nicotine vaping estimates from 2021 are not comparable with estimates from 2022 and 2023.

"Services and Recovery:

• "31.9% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 (or 8.3 million people) received mental health treatment in the past year, an increase of more than 500,000 from 2022.
• "23.0% of adults aged 18 or older (or 59.2 million people) received mental health treatment in the past year, an increase of 3.4 million from 2022.
• "Among people aged 12 or older in 2023 who were classified as needing substance use treatment in the past year, about 1 in 4 (23.6% or 12.8 million people) received substance use treatment in the past year. People were classified as needing substance use treatment in the past year if they had a substance use disorder (SUD) or received substance use treatment in the past year.
• "30.5 million adults aged 18 or older (or 12.0%) perceived that they ever had a substance use problem. Among these adults, 73.1% (or 22.2 million people) considered themselves to be in recovery or to have recovered.
• "64.4 million adults aged 18 or older (or 25.3%) perceived that they ever had a mental health issue. Among these adults, 66.6% (or 42.7 million people) considered themselves to be in recovery or to have recovered.
• "There were no racial ethnic differences among adults aged 18 or older in 2023 who perceived that they ever had a substance use problem or problem with their mental health who considered themselves to be in recovery or to have recovered from their drug or alcohol use problem or mental health issue."

It should be noted that NSDUH estimates of substance use and of treatment need are based on self-reports of behaviors which may be stigmatized and even legally proscribed.