2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Releases

The 2015 Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators report summarizes the following for the year 2015:

• Use of illicit drugs (such as, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, and inhalants, as well as the misuse of prescription pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives)
• Use of alcohol and tobacco products
• Rates and the number of substance use disorders
• Rates and the number of any mental illness, serious mental illness, and major depressive episode

Additionally, substance use trends are presented for 2002 to 2015, while trends for most mental health issues are reported for 2008 to 2015. However, some estimates are not comparable to prior years due to changes to the questionnaire in 2015.

The Prescription Drug Use and Misuse report presents findings from the 2015 NSDUH on the use and misuse of prescription psychotherapeutic drugs in the past year. The report presents additional outcomes that are relevant to the misuse of prescription drugs, such as motivations for misuse and where people obtained the last prescription drugs that they misused. The report also discusses the redesign of the prescription drug questions for 2015, the new definition for misuse, and relevant terminology issues such as "misuse" rather than "nonmedical use." Estimates for selected outcomes are presented by age, gender, race, Hispanic origin, and county type.

The Receipt of Services for Substance Use and Mental Health Issues Among Adults report presents data from the 2015 NSDUH for substance use treatment and mental health service use among adults ages 18 or older in the United States.

Report estimates show receipt of services for:

• Substance use treatment by adults ages 18 to 25, and 26 or older and
• Mental health service by adults ages 26 to 49, and 50 or older

The report examines trends in mental health service use by comparing estimates from 2002 through 2014 or from 2008 through 2014 for select estimates. Significant differences are highlighted between estimates in 2015 and those prior. Trends for substance use treatment and some other estimates are not available because of methodological changes in 2015.

The Risk and Protective Factors and Estimates of Substance Use Initiation report presents data on how respondents perceive the harmfulness of using specific substances, as well as their availability. Youth-specific protective factors are also included, as well as estimates of recent initiation. Estimates are for specific age groups.
Statistically significant differences are noted for these various estimates.

The Sexual Orientation and Estimates of Adult Substance Use and Mental Health report presents substance use and mental health estimates from the 2015 NSDUH by sexual identity among adults ages 18 or older.

The report compares sexual minority (lesbian, gay, and bisexual) and sexual majority (heterosexual) adults by sex and age group. Substance use measures include illicit drug use within the past year, current use of cigarettes or alcohol, substance use disorders, and the need for and use of treatment. Mental health estimates include any mental illness, severe mental illness, depression, and the use of mental health treatment.

The report also examines the two different measures of sexual orientation contained in the 2015 NSDUH: sexual identity and sexual attraction.

The Spouses and Children of U.S. Military Personnel report compares data related to substance use and mental health for military family members (spouses and children) with the general population using the 2015 NSDUH. The numbers of military family members included in the 2015 NSDUH were relatively small. Therefore, the report focuses on military wives aged 18 to 49 and children aged 12 to 17.

The report includes the following substance use estimates for past year:

• Use of any illicit substances (marijuana, cocaine in any form, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, and methamphetamine)
• Misuse of prescription drugs (pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants and sedatives)
• Cigarette use
• Alcohol use (both any use and binge use)
• Treatment for substance use, including alcohol use

Additionally, the report estimates any mental illness (AMI) in the past year for military wives. For both military wives and children, the report estimates major depressive episodes (MDE) and mental health service use in the past year. For children, estimates of mental health service are reported by general treatment setting (e.g., mental health, educational, medical).

The Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior Among Adults report presents findings from the 2015 NSDUH on suicidal thoughts, plans, and non-fatal attempts among adults ages 18 or older. Among those who had suicidal thoughts, the report presents estimates of illicit drug use, substance use disorders, and major depressive episode. The report presents comparisons by sex and age group, as well as changes over time between 2014 and 2015. Some trends between 2008 and 2015 are also available.

The 2015 NSDUH Detailed Tables present national estimates on substance use, mental health, and treatment in the United States. The tables’ focus is changes between 2014 and 2015 and trends from 2002 to 2015, as well as differences across population subgroups in 2015. However, some estimates are not comparable to prior years due to changes to the questionnaire in 2015. Please refer to the Methodological Summary and Definitions report for more information on how to interpret these tables.