Recovery
First, we’d like to highlight the statistics around recovery. The fact is that most people do recover, and there are many ways to accomplish this.
In 2024, 31.7 million adults aged 18 or older (or 12.2%) perceived that they ever had a problem with their use of alcohol or drugs. Among these adults, 74.3% (or 23.5 million people) considered themselves to be in recovery or to have recovered.
In 2024, 67.8 million adults aged 18 or older (or 26.1%) perceived that they ever had a mental health issue. Among these adults, 66.9% (or 45.0 million people) considered themselves to be in recovery or to have recovered.
Mental Health Treatment
In 2024, people aged 12 or older were classified as having received mental health treatment in the past year if they received professional counseling, medication, or other treatment for their mental health in an inpatient location; in an outpatient location; via telehealth; or in a prison, jail, or juvenile detention center, or they took prescribed medication in the past year to help with their mental health.
Support services from a support group or from a peer support specialist or recovery coach, or services in an emergency room or department were not classified as mental health treatment.
28.5% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 (or 7.4 million people) received mental health treatment in the past year. Among the 3.8 million adolescents with a past year MDE, 60.6% (or 2.3 million people) received mental health treatment in the past year. However, about 40% of adolescents with a past year MDE (or 1.5 million people) did not receive mental health treatment in the past year.
Of the 1.5 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 in 2024 who had a past year MDE and did not receive mental health treatment in the past year, 42.4% (or 637,000 people) perceived an unmet need for mental health treatment.
In 2024, 22.9% of adults aged 18 or older (or 60.1 million people) received mental health treatment in the past year. Among the 61.5 million adults with AMI in the past year, 52.1% (or 32.0 million people) received mental health treatment in the past year. Among the 14.6 million adults with SMI in the past year, 70.8% (or 10.3 million people) received mental health treatment in the past year.
Of the 29.5 million adults aged 18 or older in 2024 with AMI in the past year who did not receive mental health treatment, 21.0% (or 6.1 million people) perceived an unmet need for mental health treatment.
Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder
The seven-item generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7) scale was added to the 2024 NSDUH questionnaire to assess the severity of symptoms of GAD in the past 2 weeks. The GAD-7 scale was included in separate sections of the questionnaire for adolescents aged 12 to 17 and adults aged 18 or older.
Among adolescents aged 12 to 17 in 2024, 18.8% (or 4.9 million people) had moderate or severe symptoms of GAD, including 10.6% (or 2.7 million people) who had moderate symptoms and 8.2% (or 2.1 million people) who had severe symptoms.
Among adults aged 18 or older in 2024, 7.4% (or 19.4 million people) had moderate or severe symptoms of GAD, including 4.7% (or 12.2 million people) who had moderate symptoms and 2.7% (or 7.1 million people) who had severe symptoms.
Major Depressive Episode among Adolescents
Among adolescents aged 12 to 17, the percentage who had a past year major depressive episode (MDE) declined from 20.8% (or 5.2 million people) in 2021 to 15.4% (or 3.8 million people) in 2024.
The percentage of adolescents aged 12 to 17 who had a past year MDE with severe impairment also declined from 15.2% (or 3.8 million people) in 2021 to 11.3% (or 2.8 million people) in 2024.
Mental Illness among Adults
Among adults aged 18 or older, the percentage who had any mental illness (AMI) in the past year showed no change from 2021 to 2024. In 2024, 23.4% of adults (or 61.5 million people) had AMI in the past year. Percentages of adults in each age group who had AMI in the past year also showed no change from 2021 to 2024.
The percentage of adults aged 18 or older who had serious mental illness (SMI) in the past year showed no change from 2021 to 2024. In 2024, 5.6% of adults (or 14.6 million people) had SMI in the past year. Among adults aged 26 to 49 and adults aged 50 or older, the percentages who had SMI in the past year also showed no change from 2021 to 2024. Among young adults aged 18 to 25, however, the percentage who had SMI in the past year declined from 12.0% (or 4.0 million people) in 2021 to 9.4% (or 3.3 million people) in 2024.
Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors
In 2024, 14.3 million adults aged 18 or older (5.5%) had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year, 4.6 million (1.8%) made a suicide plan, and 2.2 million (0.8%) attempted suicide. An estimated 1.7 million adults (0.6%) had serious thoughts of suicide, made a suicide plan, and attempted suicide in the past year.
Among adults aged 18 or older, the percentages who had serious thoughts of suicide or attempted suicide in the past year showed no change from 2021 to 2024. However, the percentage of adults who made a suicide plan increased from 1.4% (or 3.6 million people) in 2021 to 1.8% (or 4.6 million people) in 2024.
In 2024, 2.6 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 (10.1%) had serious thoughts of suicide, 1.2 million (4.6%) made a suicide plan, and 700,000 (2.7%) attempted suicide in the past year. An estimated 537,000 adolescents (2.1%) had serious thoughts of suicide, made a suicide plan, and attempted suicide in the past year. However, these estimates are likely to be conservative because the questions for respondents aged 12 to 17 included the response options “I’m not sure” and “I don’t want to answer,” which were not included in the corresponding questions for adults.
Among adolescents aged 12 to 17, the percentage who had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year declined from 12.9% (or 3.4 million people) in 2021 to 10.1% (or 2.6 million people) in 2024. The percentage who made a suicide plan in the past year declined from 6.2% (or 1.6 million people) in 2021 to 4.6% (or 1.2 million people) in 2024. The percentage who attempted suicide in the past year declined from 3.6% (or 940,000 people) in 2021 to 2.7% (or 700,000 people) in 2024.
Receipt of Treatment for Co-Occurring Mental Health Conditions and Substance Use
Disorder
Among the 792,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17 in 2024 with a co-occurring MDE and an SUD in the past year (3.2% of all adolescents), 72.1% (or 571,000 people) received either substance use treatment or mental health treatment in the past year, and 27.9% (or 221,000 people) received neither type of treatment. Among the 571,000 adolescents with a co-occurring MDE and an SUD who received either substance use treatment or mental health treatment in the past year, most received only mental health treatment (73.6%).
Among the 21.2 million adults aged 18 or older in 2024 with co-occurring AMI and an SUD in the past year (8.1% of all adults), 58.8% (or 12.5 million people) received either substance use treatment or mental health treatment in the past year, and 41.2% (or 8.8 million people) received neither type of treatment. Among the 12.5 million adults with co-occurring AMI and an SUD who received either substance use treatment or mental health treatment in the past year, most received only mental health treatment (69.8%).
Among the 6.9 million adults aged 18 or older in 2024 with co-occurring SMI and an SUD in the past year (2.6% of all adults), 70.1% (or 4.8 million people) received either substance use treatment or mental health treatment in the past year, and 29.9% (or 2.1 million people) received neither type of treatment. Among the 4.8 million adults with co-occurring SMI and an SUD who received either substance use treatment or mental health treatment in the past year, most received only mental health treatment (69.4%).
Substance Use Treatment
In 2024, people aged 12 or older who used alcohol or drugs in their lifetime were classified as having received substance use treatment in the past year if they received treatment in an inpatient location; in an outpatient location; via telehealth; or in a prison, jail, or juvenile detention center. Support services from a support group or from a peer support specialist or recovery coach, services in an emergency room or department, or detoxification or withdrawal support services were not classified as substance use treatment.
People were classified as needing substance use treatment in the past year if they had a past year SUD or received substance use treatment in the past year. Among people aged 12 or older in 2024 who were classified as needing substance use treatment in the past year, about 1 in 5 (19.3% or 10.2 million people) received substance use treatment in the past year.
Among the 1.7 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 in 2024 who had an SUD in the past year and did not receive substance use treatment in the past year, 93.3% (or 1.5 million people) did not seek treatment or think they should get it. Among adolescents with an SUD who did not receive treatment, 2.0% (or 34,000 people) sought treatment, and 4.6% (or 77,000 people) did not seek treatment but thought they should get it.
Among the 40.7 million adults aged 18 or older in 2024 who had an SUD in the past year and did not receive substance use treatment in the past year, 95.6% (or 38.1 million people) did not seek treatment or think they should get it. Among adults with an SUD who did not receive treatment, 0.7% (or 276,000 people) sought treatment, and 3.8% (or 1.5 million people) did not seek treatment but thought they should get it.
Substance Use in the Past Month
Among people aged 12 or older in 2024, 58.3% (or 168.0 million people) used tobacco products, vaped nicotine, used alcohol, or used an illicit drug in the past month (also defined as “current use”), including 46.6% (or 134.3 million people) who drank alcohol, 16.7% (or 48.0 million people) who used a tobacco product, 9.6% (or 27.7 million people) who vaped nicotine, and 16.7% (or 48.2 million people) who used an illicit drug.
Alcohol Use
Among the 134.3 million current alcohol users aged 12 or older in 2024, 57.9 million people (or 43.1%) were past month binge drinkers.
Among people aged 12 or older, the percentage who engaged in binge drinking in the past month declined from 21.7% (or 60.6 million people) in 2021 to 20.1% (or 57.9 million people) in 2024. Percentages also declined from 2021 to 2024 among young adults aged 18 to 25 and adults aged 26 or older but showed no change among adolescents aged 12 to 17.
The percentage of people aged 12 to 20 who used alcohol in the past month declined from 15.6% (or 6.1 million people) in 2021 to 13.3% (or 5.1 million people) in 2024, but the percentage for binge alcohol use in the past month among underage people showed no change.
Illicit Drug Use
In 2024, marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug, with 22.3% of people aged 12 or older (or 64.2 million people) using it in the past year. In addition, 3.6% of people aged 12 or older (or 10.4 million people) used hallucinogens, and 2.7% (or 7.8 million people) misused opioids (heroin use or prescription opioid misuse) in the past year.
Among people aged 12 or older, the percentage who used marijuana in the past year increased from 19.0% (or 53.2 million people) in 2021 to 22.3% (or 64.2 million people) in 2024. The percentage also increased among adults aged 26 or older but showed no change among adolescents aged 12 to 17 or young adults aged 18 to 25.
The percentage of people aged 12 or older who used hallucinogens in the past year increased from 2.7% (or 7.6 million people) in 2021 to 3.6% (or 10.4 million people) in 2024. The percentage also increased among adults aged 26 or older but showed no change among adolescents aged 12 to 17 or young adults aged 18 to 25.
The percentage of people aged 12 or older who misused opioids in the past year declined from 3.2% (or 9.1 million people) in 2021 to 2.7% (or 7.8 million people) in 2024. The percentage also declined among adults aged 26 or older but showed no change among adolescents aged 12 to 17 or young adults aged 18 to 25.
Fentanyl Misuse
In 2024, 816,000 people aged 12 or older (or 0.3%) misused prescription fentanyl or used illegally made fentanyl (IMF) in the past year, including 668,000 people (or 0.2%) who used IMF in the past year.
However, IMF may be present without people’s knowledge in products sold as heroin or counterfeit prescription drugs that are made to look like commonly misused prescription opioids. Therefore, caution must be taken to avoid misinterpretation of estimates of fentanyl misuse and IMF use.
Substance Use Disorders
In 2024, 48.4 million people aged 12 or older (or 16.8%) had a substance use disorder (SUD) in the past year, including 27.9 million people who had an alcohol use disorder (AUD), 28.2 million people who had a drug use disorder (DUD), and 7.7 million people who had both an AUD and a DUD.
Among people aged 12 or older, the percentage who had a past year SUD showed no change from 2021 to 2024. However, the percentage who had a past year DUD increased from 8.7% (or 24.5 million people) in 2021 to 9.8% (or 28.2 million people) in 2024. The percentage who had a past year AUD declined from 10.6% (or 29.7 million people) in 2021 to 9.7% (or 27.9 million people) in 2024.
Among adults aged 26 or older, trends from 2021 to 2024 for any past year SUD, AUD, and DUD followed the same pattern as these trends for people aged 12 or older. Among young adults aged 18 to 25, trends for any SUD and AUD also showed the same pattern as for people aged 12 or older, but the percentage of young adults with a past year DUD showed no change. Among adolescents aged 12 to 17, the percentage who had an SUD declined from 2021 to 2024 and showed no change among those who had a past year AUD or DUD.
In 2024, the majority of people aged 12 or older who had an AUD or a marijuana use disorder in the past year had a mild disorder, and only about 1 in 5 people with these disorders had a severe disorder.
In contrast, among people aged 12 or older in 2024 who had a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant use disorder in the past year that was due to their misuse of CNS stimulants in the past year (i.e., use of cocaine or methamphetamine or misuse of prescription stimulants), about half (48.3%) had a severe disorder and 28.5% had a mild disorder.
Among people aged 12 or older in 2024 who had an opioid use disorder in the past year that was due to their use of heroin or misuse of prescription opioids, 37.1% had a severe disorder, and 42.4% had a mild disorder.
Tobacco Use or Nicotine Vaping
In 2024, 22.1% of people aged 12 or older (or 63.7 million people) used tobacco products or vaped nicotine in the past month. Among underage people aged 12 to 20, 11.7% (or 4.5 million people) used tobacco products or vaped nicotine in the past month.
Among people in 2024 who used nicotine products in the past month, 71.5% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 and 50.3% of young adults aged 18 to 25 only vaped nicotine and did not use tobacco products. Among adults aged 26 or older who used nicotine products in the past month, 18.0% only vaped nicotine, and 65.6% used only tobacco products.
Among people aged 12 or older, the percentage who smoked cigarettes in the past month declined from 16.0% (or 44.8 million people) in 2021 to 13.1% (or 37.8 million people) in 2024. Percentages also declined from 2021 to 2024 among young adults aged 18 to 25 and adults aged 26 or older but showed no change among adolescents aged 12 to 17.
(Source – National Survey on Drug Use and Health)