Substance Abuse
The term "Substance Abuse" refers to the overindulgence in or dependence on an addictive substance, especially alcohol or drugs.1
1. New Mexico Substance Abuse Epidemiology Profile. Substance Abuse Epidemiology Section,
Injury and Behavioral Epidemiology Bureau, Epidemiology and Response Division, New Mexico Department of Health.
Downloaded from http://nmhealth.org/publication/view/data/474/
on January 5, 2015.
Eight of the ten leading causes of death in New Mexico are at least partially caused by the abuse of
alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs. In 2009, the ten leading causes of death in New Mexico were diseases
of the heart, malignant neoplasms, unintentional injuries, chronic lower respiratory disease, cerebrovascular
disease, diabetes, suicide, Alzheimer's disease, chronic liver disease, and influenza and pneumonia. Of
these, chronic liver disease, unintentional injuries, and suicide are associated with alcohol use; chronic
lower respiratory disease and influenza and pneumonia are associated with tobacco use; heart disease, malignant
neoplasms, and cerebrovascular disease are associated with both alcohol and tobacco use; and unintentional
injuries and suicide are associated with the use of other drugs.1
Over the past 30 years, New Mexico has consistently had among the highest alcohol-related death rates in the
United States and it has had the highest alcohol-related death rate since 1997. The negative consequences of
excessive alcohol use in New Mexico are not limited to death, but also include domestic violence, crime,
poverty, and unemployment, as well as chronic liver disease, motor vehicle crash and other injuries, mental
illness, and a variety of other medical problems. In 2006, the economic cost of alcohol abuse in New Mexico
was more than $2.5 billion, or $1,250 per person. Death rates from alcohol-related causes increase with age.
New Mexico has the highest drug-induced death rate in the nation, and the consequences of drug use continue to burden New Mexico communities.1
New Mexico has the highest drug-induced death rate in the nation, and the consequences of drug use continue to burden New Mexico communities.1
Male rates of alcohol-related death are substantially higher than female rates. American Indians have higher
alcohol-related death rates than other race/ethnicities. McKinley and Rio Arriba counties have extremely high
alcohol-related death rates, driven by high rates in the American Indian and Hispanic male populations,
respectively. The counties with the most deaths for the five-year period 2005-2009 are Bernalillo, San Juan,
Santa Fe, McKinley, and Doņa Ana. New Mexico has extremely high death rates due to both alcohol-related chronic
diseases and alcohol-related injuries.
Drug-induced death rates are higher for males than for females. The highest drug-induced death rate was among Hispanic males, followed by White males. Rio Arriba County had the highest drug-induced death rate in the state, followed by Eddy, Torrance, Chaves, and Bernalillo counties. Bernalillo County continued to bear the highest burden of drug-induced death in terms of total numbers of deaths. Unintentional drug overdoses account for more than 80% of drug-induced deaths. The most common drugs causing unintentional overdose death for the period covered in this report were prescription opioids (i.e., methadone, oxycodone, morphine; 49%), heroin (36%), cocaine (31%), tranquilizers/muscle relaxants (29%) and antidepressants (16%). In New Mexico and nationally, overdose death from prescription opioids has become an issue of enormous concern as these potent drugs are widely available.1
Drug-induced death rates are higher for males than for females. The highest drug-induced death rate was among Hispanic males, followed by White males. Rio Arriba County had the highest drug-induced death rate in the state, followed by Eddy, Torrance, Chaves, and Bernalillo counties. Bernalillo County continued to bear the highest burden of drug-induced death in terms of total numbers of deaths. Unintentional drug overdoses account for more than 80% of drug-induced deaths. The most common drugs causing unintentional overdose death for the period covered in this report were prescription opioids (i.e., methadone, oxycodone, morphine; 49%), heroin (36%), cocaine (31%), tranquilizers/muscle relaxants (29%) and antidepressants (16%). In New Mexico and nationally, overdose death from prescription opioids has become an issue of enormous concern as these potent drugs are widely available.1
There is a large body of evidence on effective strategies to prevent excessive alcohol use and alcohol-related
harm. In the past decade, this evidence base has been the subject of numerous systematic expert reviews to assess
the quality and consistency of the evidence for particular strategies; and to make recommendations based on this
evidence. These expert reviews have recently been summarized by the NMDOH. The following list summarizes the
evidence-based prevention strategies that are well-recommended by experts; and that could be more widely or completely
implemented in New Mexico to reduce our alcohol-related problems.
Evidence Based
Excessive Alcohol Use Prevention Strategies.
Primary prevention attempts to stop a problem before it starts. In New Mexico, primary prevention of alcohol-related health problems has focused on regulating access to alcohol and altering the alcohol consumption behavior of high-risk populations. Regulatory efforts have included increasing the price of alcohol (shown to be effective in deterring alcohol use among adolescents), establishing a minimum legal drinking age, regulating the density of liquor outlets, and increasing penalties for buyers and servers of alcohol to minors. DWI-related law enforcement (e.g., sobriety checkpoints), when accompanied by media activity, can also be an important form of primary prevention, increasing the perceived risk of driving after drinking among the general population.
Secondary prevention efforts try to detect and treat emergent cases before they cause harm. Screening and brief interventions (SBI) for adults in primary care settings is an evidence-based intervention to address problem drinking before it causes serious harm. Implementing this intervention more broadly in New Mexico primary care settings could help reduce our serious burden of alcohol-related chronic disease and injury.
Tertiary prevention involves the treatment of individuals diagnosed with alcohol use disorders so they can recover to the highest possible level of health while minimizing the effects of the disease and preventing complications. According to the most recent estimates from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH,http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k7State/NewMexico.htm#Tabs), roughly 130,000 New Mexicans report past-year alcohol dependence or abuse, indicating an acute need for treatment.
However, fewer than one in ten people in need of treatment receives it.
Nationally, the most common reasons that people who need and seek treatment do not receive it are because: they have no health insurance and cannot afford the cost; they are concerned about the possible negative effect on their job; or they are not ready to stop using.2
Primary prevention attempts to stop a problem before it starts. In New Mexico, primary prevention of alcohol-related health problems has focused on regulating access to alcohol and altering the alcohol consumption behavior of high-risk populations. Regulatory efforts have included increasing the price of alcohol (shown to be effective in deterring alcohol use among adolescents), establishing a minimum legal drinking age, regulating the density of liquor outlets, and increasing penalties for buyers and servers of alcohol to minors. DWI-related law enforcement (e.g., sobriety checkpoints), when accompanied by media activity, can also be an important form of primary prevention, increasing the perceived risk of driving after drinking among the general population.
Secondary prevention efforts try to detect and treat emergent cases before they cause harm. Screening and brief interventions (SBI) for adults in primary care settings is an evidence-based intervention to address problem drinking before it causes serious harm. Implementing this intervention more broadly in New Mexico primary care settings could help reduce our serious burden of alcohol-related chronic disease and injury.
Tertiary prevention involves the treatment of individuals diagnosed with alcohol use disorders so they can recover to the highest possible level of health while minimizing the effects of the disease and preventing complications. According to the most recent estimates from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH,http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k7State/NewMexico.htm#Tabs), roughly 130,000 New Mexicans report past-year alcohol dependence or abuse, indicating an acute need for treatment.
However, fewer than one in ten people in need of treatment receives it.
Nationally, the most common reasons that people who need and seek treatment do not receive it are because: they have no health insurance and cannot afford the cost; they are concerned about the possible negative effect on their job; or they are not ready to stop using.2
2. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Results from the 2013 National
Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings, NSDUH Series H-48, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4863.
Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2014. Downloaded on 6/18/2015 from
http://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUHresultsPDFWHTML2013/Web/NSDUHresults2013.pdf.
Mental Health data can be obtained from both mortality as well as morbidity data sources:
- Mortality data provides on 100% alcohol- and drug-induced deaths and drug overdoses.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded the development of the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI) methodology that applies attributable fractions to underlying causes of death to arrive at the estimated number of deaths that were alcohol-related.3
- Adult prevalence data come from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services.
- Youth prevalence data come from Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey (YRRS), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services.
- Hospital Discharge Data (HDD) for inpatient and ED visits relating to substance abuse disorders.
3. Alcohol and Public Health: Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI). Downloaded
from http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/DACH_ARDI/Default/Default.aspx
on Jan 5, 2015.
- Drug Overdose Death
- Alcohol-Related Death
- Alcohol: Adult Epispodic Heavy (Binge) Drinking
- Alcohol: Adult Chronic Heavy Drinking
- Youth Binge Drinking (Grades 9-12)
- Youth Current Cocaine Use
- Youth Current Heroin Use
- Youth Current Inhalant Use
- Youth Current Marijuana Use
- Youth Current Methamphetamine Use
- Youth Use of Pain Killers to Get High
These links will run the query and take you to the results page. To modify the query
criteria, you can use the top left ("MODIFY Query") navigation button on the query results page.
Substance Abuse-related Deaths
Adult Alcohol Use (BRFSS Survey Data)
Adult Tobacco Use (BRFSS Survey Data)
Youth Alcohol Use (YRRS Survey Data)
- Current drinking
- Binge drinking
- First drank alcohol before age 13
- Drank alcohol on school property in the past 30 days
Youth Drug Use (YRRS Survey Data)
- Current marijuana use
- First used marijuana before age 13
- Current synthetic marijuana use
- Current pain killer use to get high
- Current cocaine use
- Current inhalant use
- Current heroin use
- Current ecstasy use
- Current methamphetamine use
- Ever used prescription drugs without a doctor's prescription
- Ever used heroin
- Ever used cocaine
- Ever used methamphetamine use
- Ever used ecstasy
- Ever injected illegal drugs
- Offered drugs on school property in the past 12 months
Youth Tobacco Use (YRRS Survey Data)
- Ever tried cigarette smoking
- First smoked cigarettes before age 13
- Current cigarette smoker
- Frequent cigarette smoker
- Smoked cigarettes on schooll property
- Tried to quit smoking cigarettes in the past 12 months
- Current spit tobacco use
- Current cigar use
- Current hookah use
- Current use of at least one of cigarettes, cigars, or spit tobacco
- Current use of at least one of cigarettes, cigars, hookah or spit tobacco
