Illicit drug use among adolescents and young adults with impairments in the US: A cross-sectional analysis of the National Survey on Drug Use And Health.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this cross-sectional analysis is to compare the degree to which adolescents and adults with and without impairments in the US engage in illicit drug use.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study utilized data from the 2022 National Survey of Drug Use and Health. Impairment status (mobility, cognitive, hearing, vision, self-care, and communication impairments), illicit drug use (cocaine, crack, heroin, hallucinogens, LSD, ecstasy and molly, inhalants, and methamphetamine), and demographic variables were measured using self-report. Weighted prevalence estimates for illicit drug use across each category were provided. Group differences in drug prevalence between individuals with and without impairments were examined, then logistic regressions estimated crude and adjusted odds of drug use among impairment groups by age. Prevalence of use and age of first time use for illicit drugs were explored across impairment type.

RESULTS

The sample comprised of 35,921 individuals, with an estimate of 12.9 % experiencing at least one impairment. Among emerging adults, hallucinogens were the highest reported used drug in the past year, with a significantly higher percentage of those with impairments (12.8 %, 95 % CI: 1.5, 9.6), compared to adults without impairments (7.1 %, 95 % CI: 6.3, 8.0), reporting recent use. Individuals with impairments (mean = 16.2 years) were significantly younger when they first tried an illicit drug compared to peers (mean = 18.1 years).

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, individuals with impairments were more than twice as likely to engage in illicit drug use compared to counterparts. People with impairments were younger, on average, when they first tried any illicit drugs.