EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE
12:01 AM, June 19, 2008
Contact: SAMHSA Press Office
(240) 276-2130
www.samhsa.gov
New Report Pinpoints Substance Use and Mental Health Problems in Individual Localities Throughout the Nation
Survey reveals wide variations and unexpected patterns of substance use and mental illness across more than 340 localities across the United States
Mental health and substance abuse problems affect every local community throughout
America – but in unique, and sometimes surprising ways, according to a report by
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The report offers highly
detailed analyses of the substance abuse and mental health problems occurring within these
smaller geographical areas.
For example, one of the smaller geographical (or substate) areas in the survey --Utah’s
Salt Lake and Weber-Morgan Counties – have among the nation’s highest levels
of persons aged 12 or older using painkillers for non-medical reasons. In these two counties,
levels were as high as 7.92 percent. In contrast, areas of the District of Columbia had some
of the nation’s lowest levels of this type of substance abuse, as low as 2.48 percent
in parts of the city.
Yet the exact same communities in Utah had the among the nation’s lowest levels of
underage binge alcohol use in the past month (as low as 8.72 percent of those age 12 to 20).
The District of Columbia had equally low levels in some parts of the city, but other
parts had some of the nation’s highest levels (as high as 39.01 percent among this age group).
“The findings reveal that the nation’s substance abuse and the mental health
problems are fundamentally local in character and might be addressed directly most effectively
at that level,” said SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline, Ph.D. “This report
provides local public health authorities sharper insight into the nature and scope of the
substance abuse and mental health problems affecting their communities.”
The report, Substate Estimates from the 2004-2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health,
measures and analyzes 23 substance abuse and mental health-related behavior levels in 345
substate regions representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In most states,
the substate regions are defined in terms of counties or groups of counties. In a few states,
these areas are defined in terms of census tracts. The results were based on the combined data
from the 2004 to 2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and involved responses
from 203,870 people age 12 or older throughout the United States.
The full report is available on the Web at
http://oas.samhsa.gov/substate2k8/toc.cfm, as is
Nonmedical Use of Pain Relievers in Substate Regions: 2004 to 2006, a short report from
SAMHSA that focuses on this particular problem. For related publications and information,
visit http://www.samhsa.gov/.
SAMHSA is a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of
the nation’s substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment and mental health services
delivery systems
