Patterns of Drug Use: An Epidemiologic Overview

Abstract

This paper presents data on the prevelance of drug use among 1633 randomly selected respondents living in the southeastern United States. The general use of a wide variety of drugs including vitamins, birth control pills, and medications prescribed for specific physical illnesses are reported with a specific focus on the prevalence and frequency of alcohol and psychotropic drug usage. The analysis presents the findings controlled for race, sex, age, and socioeconomic factors. It was found that 53.3% of the sample were taking some kind of drug at the time of interview. Of the total sample, 26.6% were taking non-prescription drugs, 28.8% were using drugs prescribed for some specific somatic illness, 10.6% were taking drugs usually classified as psychotropic, and 14.0% reported taking drugs which could not be positively identified (and therefore were labelled undifferentiated). Many of these persons were multiple users. Also, approximately two-thirds of the sample indicated they had drunk alcohol at some time in their lives with 15.3% reporting frequently drinking. The highest rates of general drug use were found among females of both races, the elderly, and the poor. White females were the most likely to have used a psychotrope at some time in their lives although these medications were more likely to be taken episodically by this group than by blacks, the elderly and the poor, who tended to be frequent users once the drug was prescribed. The most frequent alcohol users were among white, male, middle-aged, and upper socio-economic groups. When the authors compared their results with those of a number of other researchers, they found general agreement in most areas, although some variations were evident.