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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Reduce the proportion of people who misused prescription drugs in the past year — SU‑12 Data

National Status: Little or no detectable change

  
Learn more about our data release schedule

Most Recent Data:
5.0 percent (2022)

National Target:
4.7 percent  1

Desired Direction:
Decrease desired

National Baseline:
5.2 percent of persons aged 12 years and over misused prescription drugs in the past 12 months in 2021 2

Disparities data are only available for some selections.

View CI in the chart by hovering over a data point.

View SE in the chart by hovering over a data point.

Confidence Interval (CI) not available Standard Error (SE) not available Confidence Interval (CI) and Standard Error (SE) are not available

Display data for:

Persons with nonmedical use of any prescription psychotherapeutic drug in the past year, 2021-2022 ◊
(percent)
Decrease desired

Population 2021 2022
Total
5.2
CI 4.9 / 5.5
SE 0.176
5.0
CI 4.8 / 5.3
SE 0.147

Persons with nonmedical use of any prescription psychotherapeutic drug in the past year by Sex, 2021-2022 ◊
(percent)
Decrease desired

Population 2021 2022
Male
5.2
CI 4.7 / 5.7
SE 0.246
5.2
CI 4.8 / 5.6
SE 0.212
Female
5.2
CI 4.7 / 5.7
SE 0.238
4.9
CI 4.5 / 5.3
SE 0.192

Persons with nonmedical use of any prescription psychotherapeutic drug in the past year by Race/Ethnicity, 2021-2022 ◊
(percent)
Decrease desired

Population 2021 2022
American Indian or Alaska Native only
5.9
CI 4.1 / 8.6
SE 1.122
6.0
CI 4.3 / 8.2
SE 0.961
Asian only
3.1
CI 2.1 / 4.6
SE 0.633
2.5
CI 1.8 / 3.5
SE 0.427
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander only
6.0
CI 2.7 / 13.1
SE 2.470
5.4
CI 2.2 / 12.8
SE 2.447
Black or African American only
4.5
CI 3.7 / 5.4
SE 0.429
5.2
CI 4.4 / 6.0
SE 0.404
White only
5.3
CI 5.0 / 5.7
SE 0.199
5.1
CI 4.8 / 5.5
SE 0.170
2 or more races
8.7
CI 6.5 / 11.6
SE 1.275
7.5
CI 5.8 / 9.6
SE 0.960
Hispanic or Latino
4.7
CI 4.0 / 5.4
SE 0.346
5.1
CI 4.4 / 5.9
SE 0.363
Not Hispanic or Latino
5.3
CI 4.9 / 5.7
SE 0.202
5.0
CI 4.7 / 5.3
SE 0.161
American Indian or Alaska Native only, not Hispanic or Latino
7.6
CI 4.6 / 12.3
SE 1.925
6.5
CI 3.7 / 11.0
SE 1.803
Asian only, not Hispanic or Latino
3.1
CI 2.1 / 4.6
SE 0.635
2.4
CI 1.7 / 3.4
SE 0.429
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander only, not Hispanic or Latino
DSU
4.3
CI 1.5 / 11.7
SE 2.267
Black or African American only, not Hispanic or Latino
4.6
CI 3.8 / 5.5
SE 0.451
5.0
CI 4.2 / 5.8
SE 0.414
White only, not Hispanic or Latino
5.5
CI 5.1 / 6.0
SE 0.233
5.2
CI 4.8 / 5.6
SE 0.188
2 or more races, not Hispanic or Latino
9.4
CI 6.8 / 12.8
SE 1.506
7.5
CI 5.6 / 10.0
SE 1.107

Persons with nonmedical use of any prescription psychotherapeutic drug in the past year by Age group, 2021-2022 ◊
(percent)
Decrease desired

Population 2021 2022
12-17 years
3.5
CI 2.9 / 4.2
SE 0.320
2.5
CI 2.1 / 2.9
SE 0.186
18-44 years
7.4
CI 6.9 / 8.0
SE 0.278
7.0
CI 6.6 / 7.5
SE 0.230
18-24 years
8.0
CI 7.2 / 8.8
SE 0.426
7.3
CI 6.6 / 8.1
SE 0.369
25-44 years
7.2
CI 6.6 / 7.9
SE 0.332
6.9
CI 6.4 / 7.5
SE 0.277
45-64 years
4.6
CI 3.9 / 5.4
SE 0.374
4.8
CI 4.2 / 5.5
SE 0.327
45-54 years
5.1
CI 4.1 / 6.3
SE 0.571
5.4
CI 4.5 / 6.4
SE 0.462
55-64 years
4.2
CI 3.4 / 5.3
SE 0.487
4.2
CI 3.5 / 5.1
SE 0.430
65 years and over
2.2
CI 1.7 / 2.8
SE 0.298
2.4
CI 1.9 / 3.0
SE 0.290
65-74 years
2.6
CI 1.9 / 3.7
SE 0.458
2.4
CI 1.8 / 3.0
SE 0.311
75-84 years
1.2
CI 0.7 / 1.9
SE 0.303
2.4
CI 1.5 / 3.7
SE 0.547
85 years and over
2.3
CI 0.8 / 6.1
SE 1.160
3.0
CI 1.1 / 7.6
SE 1.450

Persons with nonmedical use of any prescription psychotherapeutic drug in the past year by Educational attainment (25 years and over), 2021-2022 ◊
(percent)
Decrease desired

Population 2021 2022
Less than High school
5.1
CI 4.1 / 6.5
SE 0.598
4.7
CI 3.8 / 6.0
SE 0.550
High school
5.2
CI 4.5 / 6.0
SE 0.377
4.8
CI 4.2 / 5.6
SE 0.348
Some college or Associate degree
5.7
CI 4.9 / 6.6
SE 0.430
5.8
CI 5.2 / 6.6
SE 0.352
4-year college degree or more
4.3
CI 3.7 / 5.0
SE 0.328
4.6
CI 4.1 / 5.1
SE 0.249

Persons with nonmedical use of any prescription psychotherapeutic drug in the past year by Family income (percent poverty threshold), 2021-2022 ◊
(percent)
Decrease desired

Population 2021 2022
<100
6.8
CI 5.8 / 7.9
SE 0.549
6.4
CI 5.6 / 7.3
SE 0.424
100-199
5.5
CI 4.8 / 6.3
SE 0.385
5.2
CI 4.6 / 5.9
SE 0.338
200-399
5.2
CI 4.6 / 5.9
SE 0.330
4.7
CI 4.1 / 5.3
SE 0.284
400+
4.3
CI 3.9 / 4.8
SE 0.237
4.7
CI 4.2 / 5.1
SE 0.229

Persons with nonmedical use of any prescription psychotherapeutic drug in the past year by Health insurance status (12-64 years), 2021-2022 ◊
(percent)
Decrease desired

Population 2021 2022
Insured
5.9
CI 5.5 / 6.3
SE 0.219
5.7
CI 5.3 / 6.1
SE 0.182
Private
5.0
CI 4.5 / 5.5
SE 0.246
5.0
CI 4.6 / 5.4
SE 0.194
Public
7.6
CI 6.8 / 8.5
SE 0.426
7.2
CI 6.5 / 7.9
SE 0.349
Uninsured
6.4
CI 5.4 / 7.5
SE 0.547
5.7
CI 4.8 / 6.8
SE 0.524

Persons with nonmedical use of any prescription psychotherapeutic drug in the past year by Geographic location, 2021-2022 ◊
(percent)
Decrease desired

Population 2021 2022
Metropolitan
5.3
CI 4.9 / 5.7
SE 0.194
5.1
CI 4.8 / 5.4
SE 0.159
Non-metropolitan
4.8
CI 4.0 / 5.8
SE 0.440
4.7
CI 4.0 / 5.4
SE 0.356

Persons with nonmedical use of any prescription psychotherapeutic drug in the past year by Marital status (18 years and over), 2021-2022 ◊
(percent)
Decrease desired

Population 2021 2022
Married/​Cohabiting partner
4.3
CI 3.9 / 4.8
SE 0.224
4.5
CI 4.2 / 5.0
SE 0.208
Divorced, separated, widowed
5.3
CI 4.4 / 6.4
SE 0.510
4.6
CI 3.9 / 5.4
SE 0.362
Never married
7.8
CI 7.0 / 8.6
SE 0.403
7.5
CI 6.9 / 8.2
SE 0.333

Persons with nonmedical use of any prescription psychotherapeutic drug in the past year by Country of birth, 2021-2022 ◊
(percent)
Decrease desired

Population 2021 2022
US
5.5
CI 5.1 / 5.9
SE 0.198
5.3
CI 5.0 / 5.6
SE 0.155
Outside US
3.5
CI 2.9 / 4.2
SE 0.349
3.7
CI 3.0 / 4.6
SE 0.406

Persons with nonmedical use of any prescription psychotherapeutic drug in the past year by Veteran status (20 years and over), 2021-2022 ◊
(percent)
Decrease desired

Population 2021 2022
Veteran
3.2
CI 2.3 / 4.3
SE 0.510
2.9
CI 2.1 / 3.9
SE 0.454
Non-veteran
5.6
CI 5.2 / 6.0
SE 0.204
5.5
CI 5.2 / 5.8
SE 0.174

Persons with nonmedical use of any prescription psychotherapeutic drug in the past year by Disability status, 2021-2022 ◊
(percent)
Decrease desired

Population 2021 2022
People with disabilities
9.9
CI 8.5 / 11.5
SE 0.768
9.6
CI 8.5 / 10.8
SE 0.593
People without disabilities
4.4
CI 4.1 / 4.8
SE 0.173
4.3
CI 4.0 / 4.6
SE 0.143

Persons with nonmedical use of any prescription psychotherapeutic drug in the past year by Sexual orientation (18 years and over), 2021-2022 ◊
(percent)
Decrease desired

Population 2021 2022
Straight
4.7
CI 4.3 / 5.1
SE 0.198
4.7
CI 4.4 / 5.0
SE 0.161
Straight, Male
5.0
CI 4.4 / 5.5
SE 0.282
5.0
CI 4.6 / 5.5
SE 0.236
Straight, Female
4.5
CI 4.0 / 5.0
SE 0.274
4.3
CI 3.9 / 4.7
SE 0.214
Gay/​Lesbian
12.4
CI 9.0 / 16.9
SE 1.996
7.4
CI 5.7 / 9.6
SE 0.983
Gay, Male
12.7
CI 8.1 / 19.2
SE 2.793
7.5
CI 5.2 / 10.6
SE 1.347
Gay/​Lesbian, Female
12.1
CI 7.6 / 18.6
SE 2.752
7.3
CI 4.9 / 10.7
SE 1.458
Bisexual
10.9
CI 9.3 / 12.6
SE 0.829
12.4
CI 10.7 / 14.2
SE 0.893
Bisexual, Male
9.9
CI 7.3 / 13.3
SE 1.528
12.1
CI 8.7 / 16.6
SE 1.995
Bisexual, Female
11.2
CI 9.4 / 13.4
SE 1.004
12.5
CI 10.9 / 14.3
SE 0.883

Persons with nonmedical use of any prescription psychotherapeutic drug in the past year by Gender identity, 2021-2022 ◊
(percent)
Decrease desired

Population 2021 2022
Gender identity
DNC
DNC

Disparity