Estimated Number Of People In The US Who May Have A Substance Use Disorder
"In 2021, 46.3 million people aged 12 or older (or 16.5 percent of the population) had an SUD in the past year, including 29.5 million who had an alcohol use disorder and 24.0 million who had a drug use disorder (Figures 31, 32, and 33 and Table A.15B). Among the 29.5 million people with a past year alcohol use disorder, 22.2 million had an alcohol use disorder but not a drug use disorder. Among the 24.0 million people with a past year drug use disorder, 16.7 million had a drug use disorder but not an alcohol use disorder. Among people with a past year SUD, 15.8 percent (or 7.3 million people) had both an alcohol use disorder and a drug use disorder in the past year.27
"The percentage of people in 2021 with a past year SUD differed by age group. The percentage was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (25.6 percent or 8.6 million people), followed by adults aged 26 or older (16.1 percent or 35.5 million people), then by adolescents aged 12 to 17 (8.5 percent or 2.2 million people) (Figure 33).
"By Race/Ethnicity
"The percentage of people aged 12 or older in 2021 with a past year SUD was higher among American Indian or Alaska Native (27.6 percent) or Multiracial people (25.9 percent) than among Black (17.2 percent), White (17.0 percent), Hispanic (15.7 percent), or Asian people (8.0 percent) (Figure 34 and Table B.13B). The percentage was lower among Asian people than among people in all other racial or ethnic groups."
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2022). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. PEP22-07-01-005, NSDUH Series H-57). Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.