ArticleThe International journal on drug policy2019
The epidemiology of drug use disorders cross-nationally: Findings from the WHO's World Mental Health Surveys.
Article in The International journal on drug policy, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 91 citations in OpenAlex.
- Drug use among people in prison: A global review of epidemiology, harms and interventions.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Sex-specific burden of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis across Asia, 1990-2023: a Global Burden of Disease Study 2023.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Article
- Family-centered interventions for people with substance use disorders in low-and middle-income country settings: a scoping review.The International journal on drug policy · 2026Article
- Distribution patterns of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, and new psychoactive substances among reported drug users in china (2014-2026): A systematic review and Meta-Analysis.Addictive behaviors reports · 2026Review
- Shared and distinct features between interpersonal and self-directed violent behaviors: a simulated intervention network study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Substance use disorders among young adults in North-Western Nigeria: descriptive survey of patterns of use.BJPsych international · 2026Article
- [Gender differences in aggression associated with mental disorders : A narrative literature review].Der Nervenarzt · 2026Review
- Article
- The role of neuroactive steroids in psychiatric and neurological disorders: Neurobiology and therapeutic perspectives.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2025Review
- Trichotillomania and Risk of Alcohol- and Drug-Related Problems.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2025Article
- The burden of mental disorders, substance use disorders, and self-harm among youths globally: findings from the 2021 Global Burden of Disease study.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Realistic expectations for changes to average human lifespan in the near future.Biogerontology · 2025Article
- Neuropsychiatric adverse events in people with HIV initiating a new integrase strand transfer inhibitor-based regimen in Italy: findings from the NEURO-INSTI study.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Observational
- Effectiveness of Nurse-led Brief Intervention to Reduce the Risky Use of Alcohol and Tobacco Use Among Older Adults: Results of a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial from India.Indian journal of psychological medicine · 2025Article
- Digital Surveillance of Mental Health Care Services in Saudi Arabia: Cross-Sectional Study of National e-Referral System Data.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2025Article
- The epidemiology of substance use disorders in Saudi Arabia: findings from the Saudi national mental health survey.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Risk Factors and Onset of Illicit Drug Use among Filipino Youth: A Cross-sectional Analysis of Sociodemographic and Environmental Influences.Acta medica Philippina · 2025Article
- Psychopathy dimensions and substance use: evidence from a non-institutionalized adult population.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- The evolving burden of drug use disorders: a comprehensive epidemiological analysis from the 2021 Global Burden of Disease study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
37 authors at 20 institutions in 22 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIllicit drug use and associated disease burden are estimated to have increased over the past few decades, but large gaps remain in our knowledge of the extent of use of these drugs, and especially the extent of problem or dependent use, hampering confident cross-national comparisons. The World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys Initiative involves a standardised method for assessing mental and substance use disorders via structured diagnostic interviews in representative community samples of adults. We conducted cross-national comparisons of the prevalence and correlates of drug use disorders (DUDs) in countries of varied economic, social and cultural nature. METHODS AND
findingsDSM-IV DUDs were assessed in 27 WMH surveys in 25 countries. Across surveys, the prevalence of lifetime DUD was 3.5%, 0.7% in the past year. Lifetime DUD prevalence increased with country income: 0.9% in low/lower-middle income countries, 2.5% in upper-middle income countries, 4.8% in high-income countries. Significant differences in 12-month prevalence of DUDs were found across country in income groups in the entire cohort, but not when limited to users. DUDs were more common among men than women and younger than older respondents. Among those with a DUD and at least one other mental disorder, onset of the DUD was usually preceded by the 'other' mental disorder.
conclusionsSubstantial cross-national differences in DUD prevalence were found, reflecting myriad social, environmental, legal and other influences. Nonetheless, patterns of course and correlates of DUDs were strikingly consistent. These findings provide foundational data on country-level comparisons of DUDs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.