Women veterans and risk of illicit substance use and use disorders, 2015-2019 and 2021: A secondary analysis of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

BACKGROUND

Women veterans are at risk for substance use and substance use disorders, although there remains limited data on substance use in women veterans.

METHODS

A secondary analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2015 to 2019 and 2021 was conducted to compare women veterans with women non-veterans and men veterans on substance-related outcomes, including lifetime substance use, frequency of past 30-day substance use, and past-year substance use disorders for cannabis, opioids, and stimulants.

RESULTS

From 2015 to 2019, women veterans were about 53 % and 24 % more likely to have used cannabis in their lifetime compared to women non-veterans and men veterans, respectively. Approximately 1 % and 5.3 % of women veterans were diagnosed with a cannabis use disorder from 2015 to 2019 and in 2021, respectively. From 2015 to 2019, women veterans were about 45 % less likely to have experienced a cannabis use disorder within the past year compared to women non-veterans (p = 0.007). In 2021, women veterans were less likely than women non-veterans to have been diagnosed with a past-year stimulant use disorder (p = 0.008). Women veterans reported higher lifetime rates of prescription opioid, non-prescribed prescription opioid, and stimulant use, although they were not more likely to have a use disorder.

CONCLUSIONS

Women veterans differ from their peers related to substance use trends, and thus, there is a need for the development of gender-focused interventions to both identify and manage substance use-related issues in this population.