Temporal trends in methamphetamine use among individuals receiving treatment for non-amphetamine substance use...

Rates of methamphetamine use and methamphetamine-related harms are increasing. Many people who use methamphetamine have concurrent non-amphetamine substance use disorders (SUDs). This study evaluated the prevalence of methamphetamine use in records of people receiving treatment for non-amphetamine SUDs, stratified by primary SUD.

Repeat cross-sectional analysis of treatment records for alcohol, crack/cocaine, opioid, and cannabis use disorders in the United States (US). Data was obtained from the Treatment Episode Dataset-Discharges (TEDS-D), which contains information on individuals receiving care at publicly funded addiction treatment facilities in most US states. The prevalence of methamphetamine use was tabulated for each year between 2015 and 2022, stratified by primary SUD. Differences in the prevalence of methamphetamine use over time and by primary SUD were evaluated using a multivariable logistic regression model.

Rates of methamphetamine use increased between 2015 and 2022 across all primary SUDs. The increase in methamphetamine use was most pronounced among treatment records for opioid use disorder, where the annual prevalence increased from 8.61% in 2015 to 19.22% in 2022. The prevalence of methamphetamine use among treatment records for cannabis use disorder increased from 9.68% in 2015 to 14.28% in 2022, which represented a higher baseline rate and temporal change than that observed among treatment records for alcohol or crack/cocaine use disorders.

Rates of methamphetamine use increased in treatment records for individuals with non-amphetamine SUDs and this increase was most pronounced for opioid and cannabis use disorders. Developing treatment and harm reduction strategies for individuals who combine methamphetamine/opioids and methamphetamine/cannabis will be an important future direction.