Stimulant Use Disorder Diagnoses in Adolescent and Young Adult Medicaid Enrollees

Has the proportion of young people diagnosed with cocaine or noncocaine psychostimulant use disorder increased from 2001 to 2020?In this cross-sectional study of national Medicaid data from 2001 (5.7 million enrollees) to 2020 (16.1 million enrollees), the proportion of young adults (aged 18-29 years) diagnosed with noncocaine psychostimulant use disorder increased from 0.10% (2001) to 0.91% (2020). Trends were more stable for adolescents (aged 13-17 years) and for cocaine use disorder, and comorbid mental health and substance use disorders were common in patients with stimulant use disorder.In this study, the increase in noncocaine psychostimulant use disorder diagnoses may be due to changes in availability, use, or misuse of prescription and illicit stimulants along with increased clinical detection.

Corresponding Author: Greta Bushnell, PhD, MSPH, Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science, Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, 112 Paterson St, Office #353R, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 (greta.bushnell@rutgers.edu).

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