Sex-specific Trends in Methamphetamine Use in the United States, 2002-2022

To characterize long-term sex-specific trends in past-year methamphetamine use in the United States and to assess whether prevalence trajectories differ between males and females, with implications for the practice of addiction medicine.

We analyzed nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health spanning 2002-2022 (N=1,155,417). Survey-weighted annual prevalence estimates of past-year methamphetamine use were calculated by sex. Survey-weighted logistic regression models, including a sex-by-year interaction were used to test whether temporal trends differed by sex.

Past-year methamphetamine use was consistently more prevalent among males than females throughout the study period. Annual prevalence declined in the early 2000s and increased after the mid-2010s in both sexes, with larger increases among males. Male prevalence increased from 0.8% (95% CI: 0.6-1.0) in 2002 to 1.4% (95% CI: 1.0-1.8) in 2022, whereas female prevalence increased from 0.6% (95% CI: 0.5-0.7) to 0.7% (95% CI: 0.6-0.8). Additional analyses confirmed significantly different temporal trajectories between males and females.

From 2002 to 2022, methamphetamine use in the United States demonstrated persistent and widening sex differences, with higher prevalence and larger increases among males than females in the past decades. These findings support the importance of incorporating sex-informed approaches into addiction medicine screening, prevention, harm reduction, and treatment planning.