Opioid and Amphetamine Treatment Trends Among American Indians in the Great Plains

Traditionally underserved populations in the United States, particularly rural and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities, are disproportionately impacted by the opioid and amphetamine epidemics and have a higher risk for substance use disorders. AI/AN communities in the American Great Plains face exceptional health risks. We aim to describe recent trends in opioid and amphetamine treatment admissions for AI/ANs living in the Great Plains relative to that of the general population.

We used data from the 2014 to 2016 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS) Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) for Admissions. We extracted opioid and amphetamine treatment admissions for self-identified AI/AN and non-AI/AN patients living in the Great Plains: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa. Average annual admission rates were calculated and compared from 2014 to 2016 for AI/AN versus non-AI/AN populations.

While opioid and amphetamine treatment admissions from 2014 to 2016 increased in both AI/AN (49 vs 80 per 10,000) and non-AI/AN (20 vs 26 per 10,000) populations, the rate of increase was significantly greater among AI/ANs (64% vs 32%; P < 0. 01). These trends are largely reflective of increased amphetamine use treatment admissions observed in both AI/AN and non-AI/AN populations.

Treatment admissions for opioid and amphetamine use have increased from 2014 to 2016 for both AI/AN and non-AI/AN individuals in the Great Plains, driven largely by amphetamine use. AI/AN individuals were observed to seek care at a much higher rate. This increase in treatment admissions suggests increasing demand for services, which, in turn, necessitates greater investment of resources into AI/AN health facilities to address opioid and amphetamine use disorder in this underserved population.