In 2022, the CDC estimated 81,806 opioid-involved overdose deaths in the U.S. Treatment access remains limited because only 13.9% of U.S. adults with a substance use disorder received medication for opioid use disorder in 2019. Fear of job loss or negative consequences kept 7.6% of people with SUD from getting treatment in 2022, even as opioid use disorder is linked to elevated nonfatal overdose and higher HIV diagnosis risk among people who inject drugs.
Key Takeaways
- 13.9% of U.S. adults with a substance use disorder in 2019 received medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in the past year
- In 2022, 7.6% of people with SUD did not receive treatment due to fear of job loss or negative consequences (NSDUH estimate)
- In 2021, the median age at first treatment admission for SUD was 33 years (publicly funded SUD treatment admissions data)
- In 2022, the CDC estimated that overdose deaths among people with opioid use disorder increased substantially: 2022 had 81,806 opioid-involved overdose deaths (preliminary estimate)
- In 2023, 5.0% of opioid use disorder treatment recipients received naltrexone (MOUD type share estimate)
- In 2022, 10.5% of U.S. adults with substance use disorder also had serious mental illness
- 47.9% of U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2019 involved synthetic opioids (other than methadone)
- In 2022, U.S. substance misuse and SUD contributed to about 4.1% of U.S. GDP lost due to health and economic costs (estimate from national cost study)
- $1,045 per capita annual cost attributable to substance use disorders in the U.S. (2017 estimate)
- In 2019, the U.S. had 21.0 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to drug use disorders (global burden adapted to U.S.)
- 9.0% of adults (age 26–49) had a SUD in 2019
- 2.5 million people in the U.S. reported past-year use of heroin (2019 NSDUH)
- 2.0 million people in the U.S. reported using prescription opioids non-medically in the past year (2019 NSDUH)
- Nearly 16 million Americans reported past-year cannabis use in 2022 (14–17% age 12+ range; NSDUH)
- In 2019, drug use disorders contributed 1.0% of all DALYs globally (IHME GBD Results tool output)
MOUD and treatment reduce opioid deaths, yet many people with SUD still do not get help.
Related reading
01 · Category
Clinical & Comorbidity9 stats
01
In 2022, the CDC estimated that overdose deaths among people with opioid use disorder increased substantially: 2022 had 81,806 opioid-involved overdose deaths (preliminary estimate)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db495.pdf
02
In 2023, 5.0% of opioid use disorder treatment recipients received naltrexone (MOUD type share estimate)https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2023-nsduh-detailed-tables
03
In 2022, 10.5% of U.S. adults with substance use disorder also had serious mental illnesshttps://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/mental-illness-and-substance-use-disorder-co-occurring-2019-2022
04
People with opioid use disorder have elevated risk of nonfatal overdose: 27.0% reported a prior overdose (study estimate)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2792385
05
In the U.S., opioid use disorder is associated with a 2.9-fold higher risk of HIV diagnosis among people with injection drug use (meta-analysis estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7028612/
06
A Cochrane review found that opioid agonist treatment reduces all-cause mortality compared with no opioid agonist treatmenthttps://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD002752.pub2/full
07
A meta-analysis found that medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) lowers overdose mortality risk compared with no MOUDhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7760015/
08
77% reduction in opioid overdose risk has been reported for patients treated with buprenorphine compared with untreated controls (observational evidence estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6356755/
09
In a large observational study, methadone treatment was associated with a substantially lower risk of overdose death versus no treatment (study estimate)https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1709900
Interpretation
Clinical & Comorbidity Interpretation
From a clinical and comorbidity perspective, the data show that opioid use disorder is tightly linked to serious outcomes, with 81,806 overdose deaths in 2022, 27.0% of people reporting a prior nonfatal overdose, and a 2.9-fold higher HIV diagnosis risk among people with injection drug use.
02 · Category
Economic Impact6 stats
01
In 2022, U.S. substance misuse and SUD contributed to about 4.1% of U.S. GDP lost due to health and economic costs (estimate from national cost study)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2790113
02
$1,045per capita annual cost attributable to substance use disorders in the U.S. (2017 estimate)https://americanaddictioncenters.org/research-providence/cost-of-substance-abuse
03
In 2019, the U.S. had 21.0 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to drug use disorders (global burden adapted to U.S.)https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare/
04
In 2022, the U.S. had 2.8 million substance-related emergency department visits (estimate from CDC data brief)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db475.pdf
05
AHRQ estimates opioid misuse costs the U.S. healthcare system $20.4 billion annually (estimate)https://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/state-opioid-use.html
06
WHO estimated that harmful use of alcohol results in 3.0 million deaths each year globally (harmful alcohol use burden; relevant SUD-related co-burden)https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/alcohol
Interpretation
Economic Impact Interpretation
In 2022, substance misuse and substance use disorders were estimated to cost the United States about 4.1% of GDP through health and economic losses, and they also translated into major financial pressure such as $1,045 per capita in annual costs and 2.8 million substance-related emergency department visits, underscoring the large and measurable economic burden of SUD.
03 · Category
Treatment Access5 stats
01
13.9% of U.S. adults with a substance use disorder in 2019 received medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in the past yearhttps://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/substance-use-disorder-2019
02
In 2022, 7.6% of people with SUD did not receive treatment due to fear of job loss or negative consequences (NSDUH estimate)https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2022-nsduh-detailed-tables
03
In 2021, the median age at first treatment admission for SUD was 33 years (publicly funded SUD treatment admissions data)https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2021-treatment-admissions-research
04
In 2021, 1,404,000 people received publicly funded SUD treatment services in the U.S. (admissions-based count)https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2021-nsduh-state-prevalence-estimates/2021-sud-treatment-receipts
05
In 2022, 1,250,000 people received publicly funded opioid use disorder treatment (SAMHSA publicly funded treatment data, annual)https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2022-treatment-admissions
Interpretation
Treatment Access Interpretation
Even though 1,404,000 people received publicly funded substance use disorder treatment in 2021, only 13.9% of U.S. adults with opioid use disorder received MOUD in the past year in 2019 and 7.6% of people avoided treatment in 2022 due to fear of job loss, showing persistent gaps in treatment access.
More related reading
04 · Category
Substance Use Patterns4 stats
01
2.5 million people in the U.S. reported past-year use of heroin (2019 NSDUH)https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/2020-NSDUH-Report-HMH-H.pdf
02
2.0 million people in the U.S. reported using prescription opioids non-medically in the past year (2019 NSDUH)https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/2019-nsduh-figures/2019-nsduh-national-figures-report.pdf
03
Nearly 16 million Americans reported past-year cannabis use in 2022 (14–17% age 12+ range; NSDUH)https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2022-nsduh-substance-use-and-mental-disorders
04
In 2022, 22.0% of publicly funded SUD treatment admissions reported injection drug usehttps://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt40677/NSDUH-2022-TREATMENT-Admissions.pdf
Interpretation
Substance Use Patterns Interpretation
Substance use in the United States remains widespread and diverse, with nearly 16 million people reporting past year cannabis use and millions more using heroin or non medically used prescription opioids, while 22.0% of publicly funded SUD treatment admissions involve injection drug use.
05 · Category
Treatment Outcomes3 stats
01
Naltrexone blocks opioid effects; in a U.S. randomized trial, oral naltrexone achieved 53% abstinence from opioid use at 12 months (trial-reported proportion)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2598642
02
In a meta-analysis, contingency management increased abstinence outcomes for substance use disorders with an effect size of 0.69 (meta-analytic estimate)https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-19085-001
03
In a Cochrane review, contingency management interventions showed beneficial effects for substance use outcomes (review reported positive effects across studies)https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD012087.pub2/full
Interpretation
Treatment Outcomes Interpretation
For Treatment Outcomes, the evidence suggests that medication and behavioral strategies can meaningfully improve abstinence, with oral naltrexone reaching 53% opioid abstinence at 12 months and contingency management showing a moderate-to-strong boost across substance use disorders with an effect size of 0.69.
06 · Category
Overview3 stats
01
47.9% of U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2019 involved synthetic opioids (other than methadone)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db432.pdf
02
9.0% of adults (age 26–49) had a SUD in 2019https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt29303/2019-nsduh-nia-summary.pdf
03
In 2019, drug use disorders contributed 1.0% of all DALYs globally (IHME GBD Results tool output)https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results/
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
The industry overview shows that synthetic opioids drove 47.9% of U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2019, while only 9.0% of adults aged 26 to 49 reported a SUD that same year and the global burden of drug use disorders still reached 1.0% of all DALYs, underscoring how a relatively small share of people with SUD can correspond to a disproportionately large impact.
report visual · Key figures
Overdose burden and treatment patterns are shifting over time
Opioid overdose deaths remain high while medication use for opioid use disorder and treatment coverage are still limited, underscoring ongoing need for expanded MOUD access.
81,806
In 2022, the CDC estimated that overdose deaths among people with opioid use disorder increased substantially: 2022 had
13.9%
13.9% of U.S. adults with a substance use disorder in 2019 received medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in the pas
5%
In 2023, 5.0% of opioid use disorder treatment recipients received naltrexone (MOUD type share estimate)
source-verifiedcdc.gov · samhsa.gov2023
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Felix Zimmermann. (2026, February 13). Substance Abuse Disorder Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/substance-abuse-disorder-statistics
MLA
Felix Zimmermann. "Substance Abuse Disorder Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/substance-abuse-disorder-statistics.
Chicago
Felix Zimmermann. 2026. "Substance Abuse Disorder Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/substance-abuse-disorder-statistics.
Sources & references
30 datasets cited across this report
+19 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)