In Christian Jacob’s 2012 article on the neurobiology of addictions treatment, I found referenced a 2005 study with over 5000 citations in Google Scholar.
Except when noted otherwise, numbers about substance use disorders, including abuse and dependence, are excerpted from the 2005 study by Kessler et al.
- Lifetime prevalence of substance use disorders: 14.6%
- Median age of onset for substance use disorders: 20
- Projected risk of developing substance use disorder as of age 75: 16.3%
- Lifetime prevalence of alcohol dependence: 13.2%
- Substance abuse disorder is among the most prevalent class of disorders: anxiety disorders (28.8%), impulse-control disorders (24.8%), mood disorders (20.8%), substance use disorders (14.6%)
- Alcohol abuse is among the most prevalent lifetime disorders: major depressive disorder (16.6%), alcohol abuse (13.2%), specific phobia (12.5%), social phobia (12.1%)
- Age concentration of cumulative lifetime risk for substance use disorders: ages 18 through 27
- Highest occurrence of substance use disorder by age: teens and 20s, compared to childhood, or 30s through 50s
- Prevalence of substance use disorders by gender in 2008: 11.5% of males ages 12 and older, 6.4% of females (Harvard Mental Health Letter, 2010)
- More men than women are dependent upon alcohol, although the difference is declining (Keyes et al., 2008)
- In the 1980s, the male/female ratio for alcohol use disorders was estimated at 5:1. Estimates as of 2010 are 3:1. (Greenfield et al., 2010)
- Estimate of those classified with substance dependence or abuse in the past year (2012) based on DSM-IV criteria: 8.5% (National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 2012)
In Lifetime Prevalence and Age-of-Onset Distributions of DSM-IV Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication published in the Journal of the American Medical Association – Psychiatry in 2005, Ronald C. Kessler, Ph.D. et al. report on results from face-to-face interviews with 9282 participants in the United States between 2001 and 2003 to estimate lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV) disorders in the United States. The DSM, as of 2013 in its 5th edition, the DSM-V, is a descriptive guide to mental disorders.
I was astounded by the authors’ conclusion, “About half of Americans will meet the criteria for a DSM-IV disorder [anxiety, mood/depression, substance use, etc.] sometime in their life, with first onset usually in childhood or adolescence.”
Of posible further interest
National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) “an annual survey of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States aged 12 years old or older”:
- Latest results from 2012
- By state, 2009-2010 (scroll to table at bottom of page)
- Virginia, 2009-2010
