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

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.