Substance use disorders: What you need to know

Findings from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicated that 52.7% of Americans aged 12 years and older reported current use of alcohol, 22.2 million Americans used marijuana within the last month, 1.9 million Americans had an opioid use disorder related to prescription pain relievers and 586,000 had an opioid use disorder related to heroin use.

Of the 176.6 million alcohol users, an estimated 17 million have an alcohol use disorder, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Further, 4.2 million individuals aged 12 years and older met criteria for a substance use disorder based on marijuana use within the past year. The following articles feature the most pertinent research on substance use disorders.

Substance abuse, mental health rates higher than average among US attorneys

Hazardous substance use, depression, anxiety and stress were significantly reported among American attorneys, according to recent findings. Read more

Analysis shows increases in marijuana use, disorder prevalence in last decade

Analysis of two nationally representative samples of Americans indicate past-year prevalence of marijuana use and marijuana use disorder increased from 2001 to 2013, though marijuana use disorder decreased among marijuana users. Read more

Social acceptability, methodology account for differing national estimates of marijuana use, disorder

Recent findings suggested changes in social acceptability of marijuana use and methodological changes likely account for discrepancies in prevalence of marijuana use and disorder from two national surveys. Read more

Cannabis effects on human cognition, motivation, psychosis require more informed research

Current knowledge regarding cannabis effects on human behavior may not be applicable to current day use of the drug, according to researchers. Read more

Chronic marijuana use tied to brain abnormalities, poor memory

Recent study results show heavy marijuana use may be linked to abnormal changes in teenagers’ brain structures, particularly affecting memory. According to researchers, these changes look similar to those seen in schizophrenia. Read more

ICD-10, DSM-5 differ in criteria for mild, moderate alcohol abuse disorders

While alcohol use disorder criteria of the DSM-5 and the ICD-10 demonstrate a high level of concordance in patients with very severe alcohol use disorder and in those that would not receive a diagnosis, these criteria exhibit important differences for patients with mild or moderate alcohol use disorder, according to recent findings. Read more

Reference:

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Substance use disorders. Accessed March 24, 2016.