Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Sep 2;116(35-36):585-591.
doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2019.0585.

Trends In Substance Use And Related Disorders: Analysis of the Epidemiological Survey of Substance Abuse 1995 to 2018

Nicki-Nils Seitz  1 , Kirsten Lochbühler, Josefine Atzendorf, Christian Rauschert, Tim Pfeiffer-Gerschel, Ludwig Kraus
Affiliations

Trends In Substance Use And Related Disorders: Analysis of the Epidemiological Survey of Substance Abuse 1995 to 2018

Nicki-Nils Seitz et al. Dtsch Arztebl Int. .

Abstract

Background: Changes in the use of psychoactive substances and medications and in the occurrence of substance-related disorders enable assessment of the magni- tude of the anticipated negative consequences for the population.

Methods: Trends were analyzed in the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and other illegal drugs, analgesics, and hypnotics/sedatives, as well as trends in substance-related disorders, as coded according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). The data were derived from nine waves of the German Epidemiological Survey of Substance Abuse (Epidemiologischer Sucht- survey, ESA) from 1995 to 2018. The data were collected in written form or by means of a combination of paper and internet-based questionnaires or telephone interviews.

Results: The estimated prevalence rates of tobacco and alcohol consumption and the use of hypnotics/sedatives decreased over time. On the other hand, increasing prevalence rates were observed for the consumption of cannabis and other illegal drugs and the use of analgesics. The trends in substance-related disorders showed no statistically significant changes compared to the reference values for the year 2018, except for higher prevalence rates of nicotine dependence, alcohol abuse and dependence, analgesic dependence, and hypnotic/sedative dependence in the year 2012 only.

Conclusion: Trends in tobacco and alcohol consumption imply a future decline in the burden to society from the morbidity, mortality, and economic costs related to these substances. An opposite development in cannabis use cannot be excluded. No increase over time was seen in the prevalence of analgesic dependence, but the observed increase in the use of analgesics demands critical attention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Predicted and empirically derived prevalence of tobacco use and daily smoking in the past 30 days by survey year and sex
Figure 2
Figure 2
Predicted and empirically derived prevalence of alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking in the past 30 days by survey year and sex
Figure 3
Figure 3
Predicted and empirically derived prevalence of use of cannabis and other illegal drugs in the past 12 months by survey year and sex
Figure 4
Figure 4
Predicted and empirically derived prevalence of use of analgesics and hypnotics/sedatives in the past 30 days by survey year and sex
eFigure 1
eFigure 1
Trends in substance-related disorders according to DSM-IV for nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, analgesics, and hypnotics/sedatives in men and women
eFigure 2
eFigure 2
eFigure 3
eFigure 3
eFigure 4
eFigure 4
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Pergolizzi JVJ, LeQuang JAT R.Jr., Raffa RB, Group NR Going beyond prescription pain relievers to understand the opioid epidemic: the role of illicit fentanyl, new psychoactive substances, and street heroin. Postgrad Med. 2018;130:1–8. - PubMed
    1. US Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration. National drug threat assessment summary. wwwdeagov/documents/2016/11/01/2016-national-drug-threat-assessment (last accessed on 19 June 2019) 2016
    1. Chang KC, Wang JD, Saxon A, Matthews AG, Woody G, Hser YI. Causes of death and expected years of life lost among treated opioid-dependent individuals in the United States and Taiwan. Int J Drug Policy. 2017;43:1–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kraus L, Piontek D, Atzendorf J, Gomes de Matos E. Zeitliche Entwicklungen im Substanzkonsum in der deutschen Allgemeinbevölkerung: Ein Rückblick auf zwei Dekaden. Sucht. 2016;62:283–294.
    1. Lachner G, Wittchen H-U, Perkonigg A, et al. Structure, content and reliability of the Munich-Composite International Diagnostic Interview (M-CIDI) substance use sections. Eur Addict Res. 1998;4:28–41. - PubMed

Publication types