OCR Text |
Show Behavioral Influences on Health Substance Abuse Compiled by Shobha Satsangi and Gerasimos Petratos 2002 Utah Detoxification Admissions: 20.110 Substance abuse affects many aspects of public health. Substance abuse is defined as the use of illicit drugs, or the abuse of prescription or over-the-counter drugs, for purposes other than those for which they are indicated, or in a manner or in quantities other than directed. Substance abuse is often found linked with other public health problems, including low birth weight infants, miscarriages, domestic violence, child abuse and poverty. Agencies such as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) have been extending their support to residents in Utah through local agencies. Although the national illicit drug of choice is heroin, Utah's is methamphetamine, which is responsible for 18% of all state detoxification admissions, compared to 4% across the nation, hi Utah, methamphetamine remained the most common illicit drug of choice after surpassing marijuana hi 2001 (Figure 1). As shown in Figure 2, However alcohol accounts for 40.12% of Utah's admissions to drug treatment facilities (Figure 2). The incidence of illicit drug use hi Utah has been increasing every year, whereas the incidence of alcohol detoxification admissions has been decreasing. The majority (10,825) of the total admissions (20,110) recorded by the local substance abuse authority were in the Salt Lake Valley Health Districts (Figure 3). Figure 1. Top Four Illicit Drugs of Choice, Utah, 1992-2002. Figure 2. Percentage of Patient Admissions for Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Utah, 1992-2002. 1992 1993 1994 1995 1SS6 1S97 19S8 1999 2000 2001 2002 Figure 3. Number of Admissions for Substance Abuse in Utah by Health District. Sources hup ^ m _ > i - o ' J > accessed on January 28,2003. Utah Department of Human Services. Division of Substance Abuse. 2001 Annual Report. Salt lake City: Government Printing Office. httg - \i>3.:£Q} accessed on January 28, 2003. btyi__vv\v\> ,! 5 accessed on January 28, 2003. Utah's Health: An Annual Review Volume DC 109 |