141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

285392
Prevalence of substance-specific DSM-IV drug use disorders among drug users: National u.s. estimates of differences by gender, race/ethnicity, and type of drug

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 : 8:38 AM - 8:56 AM

Jan Gryczynski, PhD , Friends Research Institute, Baltimore, MD
Diana Caldwell, PhD , Research Circle Associates, Research & Technology Park, Baltimore, MD
AIMS: To characterize the epidemiological distribution of DSM-IV drug use disorders among subpopulations of drug users in the United States. METHODS: Data analysis was conducted using pooled data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH: 2007-2011) of drug use patterns among the civilian non-institutionalized population aged 12 and older (n= 283,216). Substance-specific prevalence rates for drug use disorders (abuse or dependence) were estimated for users of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and prescription opioid analgesics (non-medical), and examined across race/ethnicity and gender. Data were analyzed using logistic regression for survey subpopulation estimation. RESULTS: Female substance users were less likely than male users to meet criteria for an alcohol use disorder (OR=.51; p<.001) and a marijuana use disorder (OR=.65; p<.001). African American substance users were less likely than white users to meet criteria for an alcohol use disorder (OR=.89; p<.001), but were more likely than white users to meet criteria for a marijuana use disorder (OR=1.44; p<.001) and a cocaine use disorder (OR=2.48; p<.001). Hispanics substance users were more likely than white users to meet criteria for a marijuana use disorder (OR=1.34; p<.001) and a cocaine use disorder (OR=1.61; p<.001). There were no apparent differences by sex or race/ethnicity for meeting diagnostic criteria for heroin or prescription opioid analgesics among users of those substances. CONCLUSIONS: Among users of a given drug, likelihood of meeting diagnostic criteria for a substance use disorder can vary considerably based on population demographics and drug type. Recent changes in diagnostic criteria for substance abuse disorders will be discussed.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the epidemiological distribution of substance use disorders among different population groups based on race, gender, and type of substance. Identify racial/ethnic disparities in experiencing negative consequences associated with substance use. Discuss the public health and social implications of changes in diagnostic criteria in DSM-V on racial/ethnic disparities in DSM-IV substance use disorders.

Keywords: Psychiatric Epidemiology, Health Disparities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Principal Investigator of multiple federally-funded projects focusing on treatment and prevention of substance abuse, HIV, and related issues. I have a doctorate in Public Policy, with an emphasis on translational research.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.