January 22, 2025

The national prevalence of U.S. individuals age 12 and older needing treatment for addiction disorder doubled between 2013 and 2023, rising from 8.2% in 2013 to 17.1% in 2023. The prevalence of alcohol use disorder (AUD) increased from 6.6% to 10.2%, and drug use disorder (DUD) grew from 2.6% to 9.6%. The prevalence of individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) more than doubled from 0.8% in 2016 to 2.0% in 2023.

Despite the rising population prevalence of addictive disorders, the percentage of the population with an addiction disorder who received treatment decreased from 9.3% in 2013 to 6.5% in 2023. The proportion of the population with AUD who received treatment declined from 6.3% in 2013 to 4.3% in 2020 before rising to 7.6% in 2022. The proportion of the population with DUD who received treatment declined from 13.4% in 2013 to 7.1% in 2020, before rebounding to 13.1% in 2022. The proportion of the population with OUD who received treatment was 11.2% in 2020, rose to 22.1% in 2021, but declined in 2022 to 18.3%.

Over the 10-year period, among people with substance use disorders (SUD) who did not obtain treatment, 5.7% felt they needed help, and 2.7% actually sought it. The share seeking treatment declined after 2020. Key reasons for not getting treatment included hesitation to stop using substances, inadequate health insurance, lack of knowledge about treatment options, and concerns about how obtaining treatment would affect jobs and community views.

These findings were reported in “Trends in Treatment Need and Receipt for Substance Use Disorders in the US” by Ligang Liu, PharmD; Chen Zhang, Ph.D.; and Milap C. Nahata, PharmD, MS. The researchers analyzed unidentified data from 657,583 people who participated in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from 2013 through 2023. The annual survey reports provided continuous cross-sectional data on addiction disorder among civilian, noninstitutionalized populations aged 12 years and older in the US. Respondents were classified as needing addiction treatment if they met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) criteria. Addiction disorder was categorized into AUD and DUD, with OUD highlighted. OUD prevalence data was available starting in 2016, and treatment data was available starting in 2019.

The full text of “Trends in Treatment Need and Receipt for Substance Use Disorders in the US” was published January 6, 2025, by JAMA Network Open. A free copy is available online at https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2828693 (accessed January 16, 2025).