Recent trends in prescription drug misuse in the United States by age, race/ethnicity, and sex
Ty S. Schepis, Sean Esteban McCabe, Jason A. Ford
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To examine changes in United States past-year opioid, stimulant, and benzodiazepine prescription drug misuse (PDM) and poly-PDM by demographics. METHODS: Data were from the 2015-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (N = 282,768), examining annualized PDM change by demographics. RESULTS: Opioid and poly-PDM significantly declined among those under 35 years, White, and multiracial residents. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Age and race/ethnicity are important moderators of recent PDM trends, warranting investigation of mechanisms. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: Results highlight ongoing PDM declines in younger groups but expand the literature by showing limited changes in adults 35 and older and non-opioid PDM.