SAMHSA Releases Annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released the results of the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which shows how people living in United States reported their experience with mental health conditions, substance use and pursuit of treatment. The 2023 NSDUH report includes selected estimates by race, ethnicity and age group. The report is accompanied by two infographics offering visually packaged highlight data as well as visual data by race and ethnicity.

"Each year, data from the annual NSDUH provides an opportunity to identify and address unmet healthcare needs across America. We're pleased to see that more people received mental health treatment in 2023 than the previous year," said Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the leader of SAMHSA. "Also, to build upon increasing accessibility to data, this year's release features two infographic reports: one focusing on race and ethnicity and one highlighting selected overall data."

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.

About the National Survey on Drug Use and Health
Conducted by the federal government since 1971, the NSDUH is a primary source of statistical information on self-reported substance use and mental health of the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population 12 or older. For the 2023 NSDUH national tables and some reports, statistical testing was conducted between estimates from different years (e.g., past month alcohol use in 2023 vs. the estimate in 2022). Where testing involved 3 years of comparable data for 2021 to 2023, pairwise testing was conducted between estimates in these years (i.e., 2021 vs. 2022, 2021 vs. 2023, and 2022 vs. 2023). Statistical tests for overall trends from the baseline year to the current year will not be conducted until four comparable NSDUH data points are available. The NSDUH measures include:

• Use of illegal drugs, prescription drugs, alcohol, and tobacco,
• Substance use disorder and substance use treatment,
• Major depressive episodes, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and other symptoms of mental illness, mental health care, and
• Recovery from substance use and mental health disorders.

Addressing the nation's mental health crisis and drug overdose epidemic is a top priority of the Biden-Harris Administration and are core pillars of the Administration's Unity Agenda. The President's Unity Agenda is operationalized through the HHS Overdose Prevention Strategy, the HHS Roadmap for Behavioral Health Integration, and the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. To learn how to get support for mental health, drug or alcohol issues, visit FindSupport.gov. If you are ready to locate a treatment facility or provider, you can go directly to FindTreatment.gov or call 800-662-HELP (4357).

Reporters with questions should send inquiries to [email protected].

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