Nonmedical Use of Prescription-Type Drugs, by County Type

Excerpt

Background: Misuse of prescription drugs is second only to marijuana as the Nation's most prevalent illicit drug problem and is a public health concern, with approximately 22 million persons initiating nonmedical pain reliever use since 2002. Methods: Using 2002 to 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data, this report focuses on variations by county type in nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers during the past year by those aged 12 or older. County were categorized as "rural" non-metropolitan, "urbanized" non-metropolitan, or metropolitan based on population size and proximity to a metropolitan statistical area. Results: About 15.7 million persons aged 12 or older used prescription-type drugs nonmedically in the past year, and 6.7 million did so in the past month. Past year nonmedical use of prescription-type drugs was lower among persons living in rural counties than among those in metropolitan and urbanized non-metropolitan counties; however, past month use was similar among all three types of counties Conclusion: With at least 5 percent of the population in rural, urbanized non-metropolitan, and metropolitan counties misusing prescription-type drugs in the past year, misuse of these drugs remains a health concern in all communities. Data in this report indicate that misuse of prescription-type drugs is generally less common in rural counties than in metropolitan and urbanized non-metropolitan counties.