Substance use disorder (DUD) can be defined as symptoms such as health problems and disability that result from recurrent use of alcohol or other drugs. These drugs cause clinically significant impairment; prevents one from meeting important responsibilities at work, home or school.
Grant et al. (2016) carried out a study to “present nationally representative findings on prevalence, correlates, psychiatric comorbidity, disability, and treatment of DSM-5 DUD diagnoses overall”. To achieve this, the authors relied on direct interviews with 36, 309 adults. From this, the results showed a prevalence rate of 3.9 percent for the 12-month period. Similarly, the findings indicated DUD to be higher among men.
These findings allowed the authors to draw the following conclusions. First, substance use disorder is “a common, highly comorbid and disabling disorder that goes untreated in the United States” (Grant et al., 2016). Secondly, the prevalence rate of DSM-5 drug use disorder is high among U.S adults. Lastly, there is a need to educate the public and clinicians about drug use disorders treatment to ensure those affected receive the necessary help.
Most importantly, there is a slight difference between social use and when substance use becomes a disorder. On the one hand, social use is where an individual is in control and do not need to use a substance to function normally. On the other hand, substance use becomes a disorder when a person relies on it as a means of coping with daily life. However, the recurrent use of the substance, in the end, affects the user’s health; the physical condition worsens and may become suicidal. Additionally, substance use becomes disorder when an individual moves through the following stages: experimental use, regular use, risky use and addition.
Reference
Grant, B. F., Saha, T. D., Ruan, W. J., Goldstein, R. B., Chou, S. P., Jung, J., & Hasin, D. S. (2016). Epidemiology of DSM-5 drug use disorder: Results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions–III. JAMA psychiatry, 73(1), 39-47. Web.