Facts About Substance Use Disorder

Maternal Substance Use Stats

  • Between 2000 and 2014, there was a 26 percent overall increase in maternal mortality across the United States, particularly due to a rise in substance misuse and subsequent overdose among pregnant and postpartum people.1

  • From 2007 to 2016, 7 percent of mothers who gave birth in hospitals had a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) diagnosis.2

  • Women are most at risk of developing a SUD during their reproductive years (18–44 years) and as a result, pregnant people or people who may become pregnant are especially vulnerable to SUD.3

  • Prior research has estimated that Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome affects 6-8 per 1,000 hospital births, with an estimated overall hospitalization cost of $572 million per year, while Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are estimated to affect as many as 11-50 per 1,000 children in the United States, with an estimated total lifetime cost of $2 million per affected individual.4

  • Among women with substance use and co-occurring mental disorders, diagnosis of posttraumatic stress and other anxiety disorders, postpartum depression and other mood disorders, and eating disorders are more prevalent than among men who are in treatment for substance use disorders.5

  • For women, anxiety disorders and major depression are positively associated with substance use, abuse, and dependence and are the most common co-occurring diagnoses.6 Other common mental disorders in women with substance use disorders are eating disorders and PTSD, a common sequel to violence and trauma.7

  • For many women with co-occurring mental health and substance use, the onset of the mental illness precedes substance use, particularly in cases of PTSD.8

  • A high proportion of women with substance use disorders have histories of trauma, often perpetrated by persons they both knew and trusted.9

  • One study reveals that women with PTSD were five times more likely than women without PTSD to have substance use disorders.10

  • Parental alcohol use increases the prevalence of alcohol use disorders among women by at least 50 percent. Substance use is not as prevalent among women as it is among men, but women are as likely as men to develop substance use disorders after initiation. Women are most at risk of developing a SUD during their reproductive years (18–44 years) and as a result, pregnant people or people who may become pregnant are especially vulnerable to SUD.11

  • The lifetime prevalence rates of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and drug use disorders in women are 19.5% and 7.1%, respectively. Women are at their highest risk of developing a substance use disorder between ages 18 to 29 years old and are at increased risk throughout their reproductive years (18 to 44)12

General Facts From the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics

  • If alcohol and tobacco are included, 165 million or 60.2% or of Americans aged 12 years or older currently abuse drugs (i.e., used within the last 30 days).

  • 139.8 million Americans 12 and over drink alcohol.

  • 14.8 million or 10.6% of them have an alcohol use disorder.

  • 58.8 million people use tobacco.31.9 million use illegal drugs.

  • 8.1 million of 25.4% of illegal drug users have a drug disorder.

  • 2 million people or 24.7% of those with drug disorders have an opioid disorder; this includes prescription pain relievers or “painkillers” and heroin).

Maternal Opioid Use Disorder

1 Kimberly Mangla, M. Camille Hoffman, Caroline Trumpff, Sinclaire O’Grady, and Catherine Monk. “Maternal Self-Harm Deaths: An Unrecognized and Preventable Outcome,” American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, October 1, 2019, DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2019.02.056
2 Marian Jarlenski and Elizabeth E. Krans. “Co-occurring Substance Use Disorders Identified Among Delivery Hospitalizations in the United States,” Journal of Addiction Medicine, December 1, 2020, DOI: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000792
3 Ariadna Forray. “Substance use during pregnancy.” F1000Research, May 13, 2016, DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.7645.1
4 https://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/press-announcements/20220203/grants-pregnant-women
5 SAMHSA, TIP 51
6 Agrawal et al. 2005
7 SAMHSA, TIP 51
8 Brady and Randall, 1999
9 SAMHSA, TIP 51
10 Brady et al. 2000
11 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2018
12 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK542330/#
13 Sarah C. Haight, Jean Y. Ko, Van T. Tong, Michele K. Bohm, and William M. Callaghan. “Opioid Use Disorder Documented at Delivery Hospitalization: United States, 1999–2014,” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, August, 10, 2018, DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6731a1

The literature review to derive these facts occurred in April, 2022.