by Lisa Frederiksen
SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) released state-by-state analyses of substance abuse and mental health illness patterns based on the 2006 and 2007 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Here are some of the key findings with regards to alcohol use/abuse:
- In 2006-2007, the rate of past month alcohol use in States among all persons aged 12 or older ranged from a low of 30.9 percent in Utah to a high of 63.1 percent in Rhode Island. Two States showed significant increases from 2005-2006 to 2006-2007 in the percentage of all persons aged 12 or older who used alcohol in the past month: Delaware and Massachusetts; and four States showed a significant decrease: Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, and Texas.
- Nationally, almost a quarter (23.2 percent) of all persons aged 12 or older participated in binge use of alcohol in the past month in 2006-2007. Four States showed significant changes in binge alcohol use between 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 among persons 12 or older. Of these, Delaware was the only State to have a significant increase, whereas Idaho, Nebraska, and Texas had declines.
- In 2006-2007, 42.1 percent of all persons aged 12 or older perceived a great risk of binge drinking. Seven of the 10 States (Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming) with the highest rates of binge use of alcohol in 2006-2007 among persons 12 or older also were States with the lowest perceived risk of binge drinking for the population aged 12 or older. Between 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, there was an increase in the Northeast region among young adults aged 18 to 25 in the perception of great risk of binge drinking from 29.7 to 30.9 percent.
- Past month use of alcohol among persons aged 12 to 20 (underage use of alcohol) ranged from a low of 17.3 percent in Utah to a high of 40.0 percent in North Dakota. Utah (13.3 percent) also had the lowest rate for past month underage binge use of alcohol, and North Dakota also had the highest rate for this measure (29.5 percent).
- States in the top fifth for needing but not receiving treatment for alcohol problems among persons aged 12 or older in 2006-2007 were primarily Midwestern (Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) or Western (Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming). The District of Columbia and Massachusetts rounded out the top 10. Among persons aged 12 or older needing but not receiving treatment for an alcohol problem, there was no significant change between 2005-2006 (7.3 percent) and 2006-2007 (7.2 percent) for the Nation as a whole; however, there was a significant decrease in Texas and a significant increase in Hawaii.
The full report is available online at http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k7state/TOC.cfm.
